Chautauqua

June 27 marked the 7th consecutive year that I have spoken at Chautauqua. The topic this year was “World War I, Food Production, and Suffrage: The Story of the Woman’s Land Army.” The venue was different this year (the Hall of Philosophy) which does not have facilities for showing slides, so I asked various members of the audience to hold placards (such as we demand the vote) and had them march around at appropriate times during the presentation. The audience seemed to enjoy this activity and I think it made the presentation come alive. I really would have loved to use some slides because there are great images of the Women’s Land Army. The bottom line is that women proved themselves equal to men during WW I by going to work on the farms to produce the food that was needed for the war effort. And shortly after the war, they were given the vote. One can read about the presentation at http://chqdaily.com/2017/06/agricultural-academic-gary-moore-to-share-history-of-trail-blazing-farmerettes/