Women's History in a Hall of Fame
Two 黑料吃瓜 women were among the driving forces behind an effort to recognize women who have shaped San Diego County.
The two 黑料吃瓜 alumnae who were instrumental in launching the don鈥檛 want anyone to buy into the stereotype of high achievers who worked behind the scenes.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 never been true,鈥� said Sue Gonda (鈥�84), who taught for more than 25 years in the History and Women鈥檚 Studies departments at 黑料吃瓜.
For more than a hundred years, 鈥淲omen have been in the forefront of getting things done in creating libraries and parks, from schools to major institutions, in all of our cities and all of our cultural heritages,鈥� Gonda said. 鈥淭hey never got the recognition, they didn鈥檛 get the newspaper articles, they didn鈥檛 get the money.鈥�
The Hall of Fame, which celebrates its 20th year of inductees next week, is 鈥渄esigned to change that.鈥�
The annual event, to be conducted via Zoom at 2:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, Mar. 21, will bring the Hall of Fame鈥檚 membership to nearly 130. (Additional information can be found .)
Olivia Puentes-Reynolds (鈥�73) was serving in the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women in 2000 when the notion arose of how to make women鈥檚 accomplishments of the past and present better known. Statues? No, too expensive.
鈥淪o then we looked at having a hall of fame,鈥� Puentes-Reynolds said, but while there were states with a women鈥檚 hall of fame, there wasn鈥檛 much precedent for one on a regional level. 鈥淲hat we decided to do is see if there were partners who would be interested in hosting such a thing.鈥�
The partners turned out to be the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women, 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Studies department, the University of California San Diego Women鈥檚 Center and the Women鈥檚 History Reclamation Project (WHRP), now the Women鈥檚 Museum of California, where Gonda served as board president.
First five
The Hall of Fame ultimately came to life in 2002 with a set of inductees composed of the county鈥檚 first female judge, Madge Bradley; longtime officeholder Lucy Killea; Jane Dumas, an elder in the Jamul Band of Kumeyaay Indians; feminist and educator Gracia Milina de Pick; and Alemi Daba of the Alliance for African Assistance.
The institution honors its inductees in the categories of trailblazer, activist, empowerer, historian and cultural bridge builder.
While it exists primarily as an internet resource, the Hall of Fame has been highlighted in traveling exhibits to libraries, museums, and schools throughout the county. An outdoor exhibit at Liberty Station, the former headquarters for the women鈥檚 museum, will remain there for now.
As the first year鈥檚 cohort suggests, 鈥渇ame鈥� does not depend on a high public profile.
For every Sally Ride, there鈥檚 an Elizabeth Lou, who helps refugee and immigrant women become self-reliant.
The year after botanist and 鈥淢other of Balboa Park鈥� Kate Sessions was inducted, the Hall of Fame welcomed Clara Estelle Breed, a librarian who corresponded with hundreds of Japanese Americans who were placed into internment camps during World War II.
Gonda, who received her bachelor鈥檚 degree in history from 黑料吃瓜 and went on to obtain a doctorate from UCLA, and Puentes-Reynolds, whose bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics is believed to be the first ever earned by a Chicana student at 黑料吃瓜, were inducted themselves in the 鈥淪pirit of the Hall of Fame鈥� category in 2020.
Other key figures in establishing the Hall of Fame include former women鈥檚 studies chair Susan Cayleff; Nancy Loevinger, first director of the UCSD Women鈥檚 Center; WHRP treasurer Mary Logomasini; museum coordinator; and graphic designer Holland Gallup.
鈥淲e got together one night in the museum and we talked about what this would look like,鈥� said Gonda, who drew some inspiration from her own visit to the National Women鈥檚 Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y. 鈥淎nd we really invented it from scratch.鈥�
Puentes-Reynolds said the group of more than 30 women was determined that selections would be driven by very specific values, spelled out at considerable but very specific length in a memo dated Nov. 20, 2000.
In part, they read: 鈥淲e value women that are not professionally motivated by money alone. We value women that are not in politics for their own benefit. We value women who are role models in the community.鈥�
Other criteria: 鈥淲omen who value others鈥� advancement not just their own personal gain. We value the right of women to choose their own identities, we value an individual鈥檚 culture, we value recognizing the value of diversity.
The values call out women who are 鈥渃reative, imaginative, visionaries and dreamers.鈥�
鈥淚 really do think that those values capture the diversity that we wanted to reach in all of San Diego County,鈥� Gonda said. Over the years all geographical areas of the county have been represented. 鈥淭here are conservative women, there are wealthy women, there are women who are of very modest means, but who devoted their life for individual communities of San Diego.鈥�
There has been talk of a permanent physical location for the Hall of Fame, but Gonda said COVID-19 restrictions have helped show what can be done in a virtual setting. For that reason, the website, which already has profiles of all the inductees, will be built up in hope of becoming an additional resource for schools and students.
