women’s history – Arkansas Women Bloggers

Mission Accomplished {Women’s History}
Written by Kimberly Mitchell of Write Your World

In 1984, President Reagan initiated the Teachers in Space Program, created to spark interest in science and mathematics among educators and their students and renew enthusiasm for the shuttle program. Christa McAuliffe, a high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire was chosen from 11,000 teachers to make history by being the first teacher in space.

Now that’s the part about women’s history. Here’s the rest of my story about this moment in history. One of the 5th grade teachers at my elementary school, Mr. B., also applied to the Teachers in Space Program. Though Mr. B wasn’t selected, he became an advocate for the program and for Ms. McAuliffe until every student in Liberty Elementary knew that on January 28th, 1986, a teacher just like those who stood at the front of our classrooms every day would do the impossible and ride a rocket into space.

My 2nd grade class gathered around the TV the morning of the launch. I saw Mr. B in the hallway, his face electric, his enthusiasm catching. Soon the entire school buzzed until teachers gave up trying to shush our excitement.

It was cold on the launch pad. Icicles hung from the shuttle. The launch was delayed as workers cleared the ice. I worried the launch would be canceled. The countdown started, flames burst from the bottom of the launch pad, the engines roared and my class cheered. For 73 amazing seconds we had liftoff. Then the unthinkable happened. I watched, disbelieving, as the Challenger exploded over the Atlantic.

My most vivid memory of that day isn’t the image of the shuttle exploding, but seeing Mr. B walk into our classroom with tears running down his face.

Three years later, I entered Mr. B’s classroom and began a 9 month journey full of discovery, fun and yes, space exploration. Mr. B took learning to a new level, challenging us to work harder, learn more, and above all, reach for the impossible. We raised money and the entire 5th grade class journeyed to the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Who flies fifty-five 5th graders from Tulsa to Houston for the weekend? That trip still remains the highlight of my school memories.

In one year, I learned that learning itself could be exciting, that new discoveries are just around the corner, and that if you push yourself, you can achieve more than you ever imagined. All that came from Mr. B., and it came from a woman and teacher who climbed aboard a space shuttle and took a risk to inspire and educate those around her. Christa McAuliffe lost her life in the Challenger disaster, but in Mr. B.’s class, that sacrifice was never forgotten. He passed on her courage and excitement to his students and it lives inside me today.

Note: Christa McAuliffe photo from www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mcauliffe.html via www.wikimedia.org. This file is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that “NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted”.

Kimberly Mitchell loves journeys, real or imagined. She has traveled to five continents and over twenty countries, always with a book in hand (or backpack). Now she writes middle grade adventures to send her characters on journeys, too. She lives in Northwest Arkansas with her husband and the best souvenir she ever found, a Yemeni cat. You can follow her random musings on writing, traveling, space and even camels at her blog, Write Your World.

Best Crop I Ever Raised {Women’s History}
Written by Susan Anglin of Spotted Cow Review.

As I work everyday on our dairy farm, I think a lot about the phrase my mother-in-law, Bonnah Lyn, used to say when introducing us to friends or acquaintances—“This is my family—the best crop I ever raised!” Born in 1925 in the rural Arkansas community of Vaughn, Bonnah Lyn was not only the daughter of a farmer, a farm wife and a mother—she was a farmer.

Bonnah Lyn was the second generation to live and work on the farm with her parents. Like most Northwest Arkansas farms in the late 1920’s, Bonnah Lyn’s family milked a few dairy cows by hand, raised chickens, pigs, beef cows and apples. All farm work was by manual labor and without the benefit of electricity or running water. Home chores were added to the list of daily farm work such as gathering wood for the wood burning cook stove and carrying water from the spring or well for drinking, cooking, bathing and laundry. Trips to town to deliver apples or other farm products were made with horse and buggy. I can only imagine the excitement when electricity brought conveniences to her generation that today we take for granted! When I think about the transitions and hardships in her life time, I realize how spoiled I am with all of our modern conveniences. She lived the motto of the Great Depression to “Repair, reuse, make do and don’t throw away anything.”

As a seasoned farm wife with twenty seven years married to the dairy farmer, I have a great appreciation for the sacrifices Bonnah Lyn and other farm women have made in their lifetimes on the farm for the next generation of family farmers. Ninety eight percent of all American farms are family farms. With only two percent of the population working to produce the safe food that we enjoy as Americans, it is important to encourage our families to continue the farm family tradition.

Although our family farm has changed in how it looks and the technologies that are used, our commitment to produce safe, high quality milk while caring for the land and animals continues just as in previous generations. I, too, find myself proudly saying with real understanding about raising the fourth generation of family farmers, “This is my family—the best crop I ever raised!”

Susan Anglin , born and raised as a city girl in Bentonville, now lives on a Benton County dairy and beef farm with her husband,two son and lots of cows. Susan loves sharing about life on the farm and how they produce safe food. You can read more about her on her blog Spotted Cow Review.