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Rochester, N.Y. —
Dozens of supporters of the Susan B. Anthony House gathered at the Country Club of Rochester Sunday afternoon to help support the house and its mission, through the Friends of the Susan B. Anthony House annual afternoon tea.
And while the atmosphere was intimate, with white table cloths and a stunning performance from the Ying Quartet, those in attendance were remembering the feisty fight of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and countless others who helped the women's suffrage movement gain eventual success.
Deborah Hughes, director of the Susan B. Anthony House, said many of those who come to the house are from other countries, learning about how Anthony and others organized the suffrage movement out of the national headquarters here in Rochester at the turn of the century.
"Women are still gaining rights all over the world and there's people all over the world who look to Susan for perseverance," Hughes said. "It makes her more than just a picture in a textbook."
Elizabeth "Betsy" Stanton, who founded the Friends of Susan B. Anthony House, says its because of her namesake that she was compelled by the suffrage movement, and all that it granted for women today. Cady Stanton was Anthony's best friend, Stanton says, and though both women died before the 19th Amendment was passed, their work lives on in today's society.
"If you weren't married, you couldn't cash checks, you couldn't get a hotel room," Stanton said of the way things used to be for women. "We were really slaves."
For Barbara Blaisdell, who portrays Susan B. Anthony at the house and speaking events nationwide, the event was an opportunity to remind all of their civic duty that those like Anthony fought hard to secure.
"If everyone here goes and tells everyone they know to get out and vote, it would be the best tribute to Miss Anthony," Blaisdell said.
Dozens of supporters of the Susan B. Anthony House gathered at the Country Club of Rochester Sunday afternoon to help support the house and its mission, through the Friends of the Susan B. Anthony House annual afternoon tea.
And while the atmosphere was intimate, with white table cloths and a stunning performance from the Ying Quartet, those in attendance were remembering the feisty fight of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and countless others who helped the women's suffrage movement gain eventual success.
Deborah Hughes, director of the Susan B. Anthony House, said many of those who come to the house are from other countries, learning about how Anthony and others organized the suffrage movement out of the national headquarters here in Rochester at the turn of the century.
"Women are still gaining rights all over the world and there's people all over the world who look to Susan for perseverance," Hughes said. "It makes her more than just a picture in a textbook."
Elizabeth "Betsy" Stanton, who founded the Friends of Susan B. Anthony House, says its because of her namesake that she was compelled by the suffrage movement, and all that it granted for women today. Cady Stanton was Anthony's best friend, Stanton says, and though both women died before the 19th Amendment was passed, their work lives on in today's society.
"If you weren't married, you couldn't cash checks, you couldn't get a hotel room," Stanton said of the way things used to be for women. "We were really slaves."
For Barbara Blaisdell, who portrays Susan B. Anthony at the house and speaking events nationwide, the event was an opportunity to remind all of their civic duty that those like Anthony fought hard to secure.
"If everyone here goes and tells everyone they know to get out and vote, it would be the best tribute to Miss Anthony," Blaisdell said.
