Sue is one of our League’s life members, having joined the League of Women Voters
70 years ago! Here’s what Sue says about her years with our League:
“Since circa 1951-52, I’ve been a member of the LWV. I joined in Corvallis and when my
husband, Jim, had a sabbatical in the early 1970s, I joined the Lincoln County LWV for a year. It was then a quite new League and I was pleased there was one in Lincoln County for we planned to retire here. When we did retire, Jim joined, too.
Earlier, at a national convention, the League was considering changing our name to just The League of Voters and letting men join. I was all for it, but there were enough members who had fought so hard for suffrage that the name change didn’t pass; however, men were welcome to join.
Jim and I put out Wavelengths for several years, first taking mimeograph sheets to a printer,
then changing from a typewriter to a computer. Now I am amazed at the professionalism with
which Wavelengths is produced.
When we did retire, I learned that earlier League activities, among other things, had been
working on the question of whether Newport should be a shipping point for natural gas (which it was not) and the regaining of tribal property by the Siletz. There is a beaded token of gratitude from the Siletz included with early records of this League at the Lincoln County Historical Society for our help in restoring tribal rights from the federal government.
I, too, am grateful to the LWV for much of my adult education, and for the many interesting
people and friendships that have resulted over the years.”