HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2013-03-04 Women's History Month exhibit
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Women’s History Month Exhibit at Thomas Balch Library
Highlights the Athletic Endeavors of Women in Loudoun
County in the Twentieth Century
Leesburg, VA (March 4, 2013) – In celebration of
Women’s History Month, Leesburg’s Thomas
Balch Library has created an exhibit showcasin
the athletic pursuits of Loudoun women. In the
early decades of the 20th century, physical
education teachers discouraged women and
from participating in competitive sports, fearing
that the competition would make them less
feminine. But these years were a time of
tremendous change and progress for women in
the public sphere. Women had greater access to
college educations as schools cracked their
allowing some women to attend a few classes,
while at the same time the number of women’s
colleges was growing. Suffragists were fighting for
the right to vote. More and more women were
delaying family life and pursuing livelihoods
outside of the home. As women made themselves comfortable in public spaces, they found
opportunities for athletic recreation. Many schools in Loudoun County had sports facilities,
such as basketball courts and baseball fields. It is not surprising that young women, given the
opportunity and the equipment, formed and joined school teams.
g
girls
doors,
Douglass High School 1951 Girls’ Championship
Basketball Team (Russell Gregg Photograph
Collection, Thomas Balch Library)
The exhibit includes photographs from the early twentieth century of women in athletic groups
and competitions. Photographs were pulled from several manuscript collections at Thomas
Balch Library, including the Russell Gregg Photograph Collection and the Winslow Williams
Photograph Collection. Gregg and Williams both photographed school groups and teams, and
their collections document the growth of women’s athletic participation in Loudoun County’s
high schools. The Nancy Graham Rogers Collection and the Anna Snowden Wildman Dyer
Collection also make appearances in the exhibit. Both of these Loudoun women were well
educated and athletic. Nancy played basketball for Leesburg High School in the late twenties
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TOL PR 2013‐03‐04 Women’s History Month exhibit
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and also enjoyed tennis. In 1917, Anna graduated from Bryn Mawr, where she had participated
in several sports. The exhibit includes photographs of a track and field meet and a field hockey
match at Bryn Mawr, as well as a handkerchief with tennis scores from 1922.
The exhibit will be on display in the Mercer Room of Thomas Balch Library through March 31,
2013.
About the Thomas Balch Library: Thomas Balch Library is a history and genealogy library owned
and operated by the Town of Leesburg. A designate Underground Railroad research site, the
Library’s collections focus on Loudoun County, regional and Virginia history, genealogy, military
history with special emphasis on the American Civil War, and ethnic history. For more
information, please visit www.leesburgva.gov/ThomasBalchLibrary.
Contact:
Alexandra S. Gressitt
Library Director
agressitt@leesburgva.gov
703‐737‐7196
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