Historical women

To Ostby, an important part of women’s rights is about telling their stories and elevating their role in history. She said it helps put women’s plight for equal rights in perspective, though society has work to do to get there.

Whether it was women taking care of families and homes while their husbands were working or in military service, running the farm or taking up factory jobs during wartime to keep up with the military’s need, women were primary drivers for family and community wellbeing.

“The introduction of women’s history to society allows society to get a better perception, and it allows people to decide where there’s room for improvement,” Ostby said.

In Benton County, women like Louise DeMarais of Sauk Rapids helped shape the community into what it is today, but not from a prominent governing position or from the chair of a multinational business. She was a single mom in charge of 16 kids on a 1980s farm. Her husband died earlier than expected, so she had to do it alone.

Aside from raising 16 kids, she was an avid community volunteer. She felt she lived an ordinary life – one of service to her family and peers – but it was anything but ordinary. She won the historical society’s Women in History award in 2000 for her contributions to the area.

Helen Latterell, a Foley-born historical fi gure who Ostby called a rule breaker, worked at a local courthouse at a time when women in that role were unheard of. She began her work for Benton County during World War I at the age of 12 because her uncle, the Register of Deeds, needed help at the offi ce after two of his deputies left for war.

Eventually, after a time living in St. Paul, her parents’ ill health led her back to Foley, where she served at the Foley courthouse for four years as deputy treasurer and then 28 years as treasurer.

There were many prominent women in history who contributed to the women’s rights movement through activism. However, Ostby said, others took on traditional roles that shoved women’s rights – or lack thereof – into the spotlight. It was the women who cared for their families, fi lled in the gaps for their communities, ran the family farm and took on thankless jobs that

As women continue to fi ght for equal leadership and job opportunities, Ostby fi nds it imperative society continues to shine a light on their prominence, which is why the Benton County Historical Society honors women annually with its Women in History award.

“All these women over the years that we’ve honored are all here for a variety of reasons, and the community has dictated their importance of their activities to us,” Ostby said. “They’re so widely represented, whether it’s family life,

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The Benton County Historical Society has been recognizing women in the county since 1998. In 2021, they will abstain from selecting recipients, but may schedule an event to recognize the 2020 awardees. Last year’s celebration was postponed and then cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Benton County Historical Society has been selecting junior honorees since 1999, rotating between Foley Public Schools and Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools.

Mildred Benner 1998 Mary Burns 1998 Elaine Fleck 1998 Luverne Neils 1998 Lola Schenk 1998 Elizabeth Hayden 1999 Helen Latterell 1999 Marlene Molitor 1999 Joan Parent 1999 Louise DeMarais 2000 Marie Helmin 2000 Margaret Neary 2000 Pat Tarpenning 2000 Alice Engelmeyer 2001 Eleanor Gottwalt 2001 Leatrice Teigen 2001 Alice Trushenski 2001 Ruth Gottschalk 2002 Annette Legatt 2002 Marie Martin 2002 Alice Sefkow 2002 Elaine Balder 2003 Margaret Braine 2003 Charlotte Fisher-Notch 2003 Polly Hoover 2003 Kathleen Chmielewski 2004 Lucille Chmielewski 2004 Winnie Doroff 2004 Clarice Lanz 2004 Ellevina Hansmeier 2005

Doris Stachowski 2005 Betty Stob 2005 Clara Teff 2005 Luella Cave 2006 Nellie Henry 2006 Virginia Lewandowski 2006 Genevieve Manea 2006 Rose Mechavich 2007 Luella Parkins 2007 Jan Sorell 2007 Lorane Walsh 2007 Sharon Henry 2008 Dixie Morse 2008 Mary Agnes Shimota 2008 Veronica Voight 2008 Marilyn Kaschmitter 2009 Elizabeth "Libbie" Levinski 2009 Mary Linn 2009 Sue Turch 2009 Nancy Anderson 2010 Marjean Keehr 2010 Joan Neyssen 2010 Merlin Irene Youso 2010 Carole Mersinger 2011 Maxine Olson 2011 Eileen Saldana 2011 Cecil Wade 2011 Pat Abfalter 2012 Jan Hovda 2012 Clara Knettel 2012

Janis Brown 2013 Karen Sakry 2013 Pat Spence 2013 Diane Thorsten 2013 Connie Cardinal-Ramberg 2014 Alfrieda Jacquemart 2014 Janice Martin 2014 Kathy Schlueter 2014 Sharon Beehler 2015 Maureen Graber 2015 Sally Grabuski 2015 Wendy Wheeler 2015 Janet Abfalter 2016 Dolores (Suzie) Bialke 2016 Peggy Herman 2016 Joyce Notsch 2016 Char Dhein 2017 Darlene Hiscock 2017 Katie McMillan 2017 Mary Chmielewski 2018 Theresa Duea 2018 Nancy Kampa 2018 Joyce Segler 2019 Linda G. Tenneson 2019 Sharon Weitgenant 2019 Joan M. Weyer 2019 Natasha Barber 2020 Brenda Hackett 2020 Phyllis Post 2020 Marge Nierengarten 2020

career life or government life.”

Whenever there was a need in the community, historically speaking, women would fi ll it, and that is often how they gained rights, Ostby said – slowly, but surely. As Ostby looks forward, she wants to ensure future students and researchers understand the role women played from past to present.

Stephanie Dawn 1999 Christen Bauerly 2000 Meghan Nook 2001 Kim Peterson 2002 Stephanie Nietz 2003 Alison Thorsness 2004 Heather Boelz 2005 Margaret Latterell 2006 Kaitlin Weis 2007 Marissa Kantor 2008 Amanda Woolsey 2009

Chelsea Lesniak 2010 Emily Ackerman 2011 Kaylee Stellmach 2012 Amanda Schubert 2013 Nicole Zapf 2014 Hannah Voight 2015 Kim Barthelemy 2016 Madison Davis 2017 Amelia Winkelman 2018 Emily Lynn Gertken 2019 Tessa Schumann 2020

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