Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Monday 22 March; the Women’s Rights National Park & Skateatelas

Mattie and Mike have given me a warm welcome into their beautiful house which was built with lots of Californian Redwood. Outside my window two small clumps of snowdrops provide the only green shoots in a rather bleak landscape. I’m told that Rochester competes with Seattle for the most cloudy days in the year. No surprise then: it’s raining

We drive east along the New York State thruway, our first stop is Senaca Falls and the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. Mattie and I are the only visitors today so we have the undivided attention of Dave with his endless knowledge and admiration of the women and men who initiated the women’s rights movement. Our tour of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, where in 1848 the first women’s rights convention was held, is conducted from the window of the exhibition hall as the chapel is currently being restored. The original building has over time been used as a filling station and most recently a lauderomat. P1000596We stand beside clay statues of the activists, many of them were also abolitionists. Upstairs the exhibition tells the story of their 72 year battle for women’s suffrage and there’s lots about gender inequality in general. To my delight a large quilt hangs from one wall; simply patched in primary colours and perfectly hand quilted.

P1000604 In a nearby street we visit the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton one of the leaders of the women’s rights movement.  She held ‘conversationlists’ in her home to teach young women how to organise meetings, use rhetoric and gain the confidence to speak in public. The room walls are covered in wall paper that matches the originals; all discovered under six other layers during restoration.

P1000605 Our final stop is in Skateatelas. A wonderful name for a town that sits on the northern tip of one of the smaller finger lakes. Lunch is very good clam chowder in a restaurant that overlooks the absolutely clear lake water. A wonderful day that the persistent rain does not dampen. 

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