{"id":14,"date":"2012-08-25T08:34:25","date_gmt":"2012-08-25T15:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/?page_id=14"},"modified":"2013-07-30T12:45:35","modified_gmt":"2013-07-30T19:45:35","slug":"lucy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/historic-interpretation\/lucy\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucy Waters Phelps, suffragist, Sutton, MA (1876-1965)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Karen Board Moran portrayal at Women at Work Museum, 2004.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lucy Waters Phelps\u00a0(November 17, 1876- May 21, 1965)\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0was brought to life to celebrate the 300th<\/sup> anniversary of Sutton, Massachusetts. \u00a0Her story as a teacher provided a voice to teach history through a local lens. \u00a0The resources added to this page not only helped Sutton teachers tell Sutton’s story, but reached a wider audience to tell the story of woman’s rights and suffrage.<\/p>\n

Suffragist Rally – Get Out the Vote!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It is better to exercise one’s mind on the side one honestly believes to be right (may it seem right or wrong to me), than to allow it to remain idle and dormant. \u00a0Lucy Waters Phelps<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On 3 October 2004, Phelps, a member of the historic Worcester Equal Franchise Club and the first Sutton woman to register to vote<\/span>\u00a0held a “Get Out the Vote” Rally on the Sutton Common and at Waters’ Farm to celebrate women’s historic contributions as part of the tri-centennial celebration for Sutton, Massachusetts. Phelps was portrayed by Karen Board Moran and was joined by local Girl Scouts Troops 670, 695 and 1026\u00a0dressed as suffragists \u00a0and several Sutton Women Thru the Ages marchers from Sutton Reenactors and the Worcester Women’s History Project. \u00a0Representative Jennifer Callahan,M.D., the first female representative from the Blackstone Valley district. encouraged the crowd to become involved in our democracy in her speech “We Can Make It Better”. \u00a0She reminded everyone that the first female Sutton Selectman was Alice Bebka (1981) and the first woman on the Board of Assessors was Patricia Nedoroscik (1985) who went on to become the first female Town Administrator (March 2002).<\/p>\n

The pre-registered scouts and mothers traveled by car caravan to Waters Farm Days to hand out flyers and help the League of Women Voters voter registration table.<\/p>\n

Fifth grade Girl Scout Zo\u0451\u00a0Kintzer was inspired to write a poem for the occasion:<\/p>\n

VOTES FOR WOMEN<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Women are just as equal as men<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We should be treated the same<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Who am I to blame<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We should all be able to vote<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Please take note<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Women are as powerful as men<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 So here’s a clue<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We should all be able to do everything men do<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 We are all the same<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Just think about it<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0We’re not meant to just knit<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0So let’s go vote<\/p>\n

Suffragist resources for Girl Scouts.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"2003<\/a>
Girl Scout Suffragists get out the vote at Waters Farm, 3 October 2004.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"LWP<\/a>
Lucy Waters Phelps [n.d], Phelps Family Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Julia<\/a>
Lucy’s mother Julia Waters Phelps [n.d.]. Phelps Family Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/p>\n

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Are you content…with being labeled “it” or “reigning the region of zero for the sole reason you belong to that half of humanity [?].<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Lucy Waters Phelps, The Truth Seeker 1 May 1895<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"1908<\/a>
1908 or 1914 Oread postcard, Courtesy of Barbara Fletcher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lucy Waters Phelps<\/strong> was born in the centennial year of our country in Sutton, Massachusetts.\u00a0 Her grandfather, James, and father, Henry, ran the saw and grist mills in the village of West Sutton.\u00a0 Julia Matilda Waters, her mother, had taken a course at the Oread Collegiate Institute in Worcester, a pioneer college for women modeled after Brown University that only allowed male students at the time.\u00a0 Her mother was a natural nurse and midwife for the West Sutton community.\u00a0 James Phelps, her grandfather, made a machine for making paper in 1826 and patented a rag washer in 1843.<\/p>\n

Lucy taught at West Sutton School for 21 years or more, but did not limit her activities to this field.\u00a0 She was an active member of the American Press Writer\u2019s Association for more than 25 years. \u00a0Phelps’\u00a01908 Blickensderfer typewriter can be seen at the Sutton Historical Society or in the virtual museum on the website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"1898<\/a><\/p>\n

As a single woman, Lucy was aware she had been born three years after Massachusetts’ women gained the right to vote in school committee elections; and yet, no Sutton woman had registered to vote.\u00a0 At age 21, she led the way by becoming the first woman in town to register to vote and became an ardent suffragist.\u00a0\u00a0 She was a member of the Worcester Equal Franchise Club, which became the League of Women Voters in 1920.\u00a0 By 1912 only about 1\/3 of area women had registered to vote.\u00a0 Locals remember the suffrage bluebird symbol nailed on each pillar in front of her home reminding male citizens to cast their ballots in support of woman\u2019s right to become voting members in the American democracy.\u00a0 She also wore the suffragist banner and carried the Sutton banner in the Boston Suffrage Parade in 1915.\u00a0 She may also have marched in the 30 October 1914 parade in Worcester.<\/p>\n

A pillar in her community, Lucy helped organize the West Sutton Community League for the betterment of West Sutton in 1928.\u00a0 After retiring from teaching she became an entrepreneur with her brother Charles.\u00a0 They ran Paine Haven on Central Turnpike, a roadside stand selling ice cream and candy\u2014\u201cThe Pride of the Pike\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"1940<\/a>
Paine Haven Park on the Pike after blizzard of 14 February 1940, Phelps Family Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like teachers everywhere, Lucy influenced the future by shaping her students lives, but also fought for woman\u2019s rights as an American citizen. \u00a0One of her students, Helme Josephson Salois, remembers her as \u201ca grand lady\u201d and even saved her first Christmas card from her teacher in 1920. \u00a0 She challenged them to present poems by memory on Memorial Day.\u00a0 Her strong commitment to community ensured a positive present.\u00a0\u00a0 Many members of the Phelps family are buried in the West Sutton Cemetery.\u00a0\u00a0 Lucy is buried in the West Sutton Cemetery at the right end of the road closest to West Sutton.\u00a0Some family members live in Lisbon, Iowa.<\/p>\n

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\"headstone<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"headstone<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\"headstone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lucy Waters Phelps\u00a0(November 17, 1876- May 21, 1965)\u00a0\u00a0was brought to life to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Sutton, Massachusetts. \u00a0Her story as a teacher provided a voice to teach history through a local lens. \u00a0The resources added to this page not only helped Sutton teachers tell Sutton’s story, but reached a wider audience to tell […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":12,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1784,"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14\/revisions\/1784"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/windowonyourpast.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}