Women's History Month - Martha Matilda Harper

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Smithtown Matters is proud to recognize the accomplishments of women. It is fascinating to learn the wonderful and interesting ways women have made their mark on the world. Throughout March, SmithtownMatters will give a brief history of women who made a difference.  

Day 3 - Martha Matilda Harper-(1857 - 1950) Created America’s first business franchising system in 1891.  Invented the reclining shampoo chair.

Martha Matilda Harper’s became a servant at age of seven. Originally from Canada, Martha worked as a house servant until her mid twenties at which time she lived in the Buffalo region of New York.  Martha, known for her Rapunzel like hair, began to manufacture a natural shampoo.  She opened the first professional salon.  Historically, hairdressers went to their patron’s homes.   Martha’s emphasis was on customer service.  In 1891 she created a network of salons each one owned and operated by women.  The women who became franchise owners shared a similar background of servitude with Martha.  The women underwent training in the “Harper Method”  of beauty.  Although each salon was independently owned Martha inspected the franchises and provided group insurance and advertising.  

Martha Matilda Harper had many famous patrons including Woodrow Wilson, Susan B. Anthony, President Calvin and First Lady Grace Coolidge as well a Jackie Kennedy. At one time there were over 500 Harper Salons in operation.  In addition to the salons there was a chain of Harper training schools.  

The concept of franchising is very popular in 2011. Some popular franchises today are Mc Donalds, Subway, Kiddie Academy and Ace Hardware.  

Women's History Month - Jacqueline Cochran

I found this video while I was looking for information about Fly Girl- Jacqueline Cochran.  The young woman who produced this project is almost as impressive as Jacqueline Cochran.  Enjoy !

MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

In 1980 President Jimmy Carter designated March 2-8, 1980, National Women’s History Week.  In his proclamation the president included these words, “ …But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well.

Women have worked alongside men both in partnership and independently to build, tame, grow and improve America.  Despite a glass ceiling and discrimination women have participated and made contributions in every field of commerce, science, art, education and government.

Yet, so few of their accomplishments are acknowledged in our history books.  Too often, when recognition is given it is with an asterisk, the first female to….. .   When we fail to acknowledge and respect the contributions of women, society is the worse.

In 1987 Congress declared March as National Women’s History Month in perpetuity. Every year since1987 there has been a Presidential Proclamation honoring the extraordinary achievements of American women.

Today starts National Women’s History Month 2011.  Let us recognize the contributions of women who, through their efforts, have made our lives and our society better. 

Throughout March Smithtown Matters will acknowledge the work of women who have made a difference. 

Rachel Carson – Biologist, Environmentalist and Author 1907 -1964

Rachel Carson wrote the book Silent Spring.  In the book Rachel wrote about the dangers of popular pesticides including DDT. The book was the beginning of the movement to overhaul the nation’s policy on pesticides. Rachel Carson was diagnosed with breast cancer and died of complications from the disease and its treatment.

Below is a time line prepared by Linda Lear www.rachelcarson.org

Rachel Carson’s Life

1907 May 27	Carson born in Springdale, Pa.
1918 September	Published first story in St. Nicholas Magazine
1925 -1929	Carson attends Pennsylvania College for Women; majors in science. Carson goes to Woods Hole, MA to study marine biology. Begins graduate work in zoology at Johns Hopkins University
1932 May	Graduates with MA in zoology from Hopkins; goes again to Woods Hole to study at Bureau of Fisheries.
1935	Writes radio scripts for Bureau of Fisheries and publishes articles on natural history of the Chesapeake Bay for The Baltimore Sun. Writes “The World of Water” later published as “Undersea” in The Atlantic Monthly, September, 1937. Father, Robert Carson dies.
1936 -1952	Appointed Junior Aquatic Biologist with the Bureau of Fisheries, U.S. Department of Commerce. Becomes staff biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service,
1939	retires as editor in chief of all USFWS publications.
1937	Sister, Marian Carson Williams dies, leaving two daughters Virginia and Marjorie who live with Rachel and her mother.
1941	Under the Sea-wind. A Naturalist’s Picture of Ocean Life published by Simon& Schuster.
1947	Publishes first of five pamphlets in Conservation in Action series for USFWS.
1950	Confirmed breast tumor removed. No further treatment.
1951	The Sea Around Us., excerpted in “Profiles” of The New Yorker. The Sea Around Us published by Oxford University Press. Resigns from Government service to write full time.
1952	National Book Award for Non-fiction for The Sea Around Us; Roger Christie, Marjorie’s son born. RKO film version released; Awarded the John Burroughs Medal, April 1952. The Henry Grier Bryant Gold Medal, Geographical Society New York Zoological Society Gold Medal. Awarded a Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for research on tidal life.
1955	The Edge of the Sea published by Houghton Mifflin Co.
1956	July “Help Your Child to Wonder,” Women’s Home Companion. Published posthumously as The Sense of Wonder, Harper& Row, 1965.
1957	Rachel adopts Roger Christie after the death of his mother.
1960 April	Carson has radical mastectomy for breast cancer.
1962 June	First of three installments of Silent Spring published as Reporter at Large in The New Yorker September Silent Spring published by Houghton Mifflin December Silent Spring, a book-of-the-month club selection
1963 January	Albert Schweitzer award from Animal Welfare Institute April 3 CBS Reports airs “The Silent Spring of Rachel Carson.”
1963 June 3	Carson testifies on the misuse of pesticides; US Senate Subcommittee of Government Operations. 88th Cong. 1st.sess.
1963 June 6	Carson testifies before the US Senate Committee on Commerce December Awarded the National Audubon Society Medal. Inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
1964 April 14	Carson dies in Silver Spring, Md. at age 56.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction - Not Behind The Scene Any Longer

By Kieran McGovern

A quiet, friendly, suburban town on the North Shore of Suffolk County, Smithtown, like any community, is not without its issues and negative realities. A growing threat to the community exists. It is not the abandoned Kings Park Psychiatric Center or Smithtown’s tax rate, it is substance abuse.

Many people don’t consider drug and alcohol addiction a problem because it is behind the scenes; out of sight and out of mind. That ignorance is part of the problem and one of the main reasons why the heroin phenomenon has grown to very high proportions in Smithtown.  

Jeffrey Reynolds, Executive Director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (LICADD), which has offices in Williston Park, Ronkonkoma and Riverhead stated that, ”Smithtown is one of the communities that has been hardest hit by opiate (heroin-derived substances) addiction,” Reynolds noted, “and that is partly because they weren’t prepared to effectively handle such issues. When you think heroin, you think of run-down parts of the lower east side, you don’t consider that it may be your neighbor selling it and your family member buying it. ”

Reynolds stated that other factors contributing to substance abuse across long Island are lack of educational programs and community services due to funding cuts at the local and state levels. Another reason is ease of access to prescription and over-the-counter drugs containing opiate-based substances. People do not generally dispose of such medications they may keep them “lying around the house,” where they are accessible to teenagers in particular.

This is not to suggest heroin addiction is exclusively a youth problem—it runs the gamut and affects folks of all ages. One person, a survivor of multiple addictions stated, “I’d buy heroin from a guy my dad’s age, and we all snorted in an old man’s shed. It’s only so bad for us (younger people) because we typically have nothing to do and nowhere to go for fun.” According to Suffolk County Police, drug-related arrests, accidents and fatalities have all skyrocketed in the last two or three years, and one local store discontinued its sale of Oxycontin and similar drugs after being held up more than once by people craving the substance. 

What is the prognosis? “Sadly we have lost some lives, and we are going to lose more before it runs its course,” said Reynolds. However, he added that collaborative efforts between school districts, families and authorities have increased awareness and prevented many deaths, addictions and incarceration. Reynolds explained that mass addictions come in waves, “the last big heroin outbreak was back in the late 70s, and that is once again the drug of choice.” He believes the next drug to watch out for is crystal methamphetamine.

Mr. Reynolds said approximately 20-25 Smithtown residents use LICADD’s services per month, which include inpatient detoxification, rehabilitation (inpatient or outpatient), transfer to crisis centers and halfway houses, information and referral. And self-help groups. All services are administered on family-help or individual levels. Other such organizations include Pederson-Krag, Town of Smithtown Horizons and Education Center, the Long Island Center for Recovery (LICR) and local Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotic’s Anonymous chapters

It is important to remember that the true victims of addiction are this suffering from their addiction. A person should not be looked upon as immoral, bad or non-respectable simply because they have an addiction(s). People experiencing drug or alcohol dependency are encouraged to pursue the services of the above-stated agencies. We must come together as a community to battle issues of substance abuse.

Long Island Center for Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (LICADD) – (516) 747-2606 http://www.licadd.com/ 

Pederson-Krag (Smithtown) – (631) 265-3311     http://pederson-krag.org/

Long Island Center Recovery (LICR) – (631) 728-3100       http://longislandcenterforrecovery.com/

Horizons – (631) 360-7578            http://www.smithtowninfo.com/

Seafield – (631) 288-1122              http://www.seafieldcenter.com/

Charlie Murphy’s Residence and Resort (out-of-pocket) – (631) 261-0057             http://www.cm-residence.com/

It's Show Time For Quixote - Westminster Competition Begins Today

In the dog world Westminster Dog Show is a very big deal.  If you are a dog who has been invited and are competing at Westminster you are already a champion since only champions are invited.  Such is the case with Commack’s entry at the Westminster Dog Show, chow - Quixote Fernandez.

Quixote is three and a half years old and according to his handler, Linda Albert, Quixote excels in all the standards by which chows are judged.  He is rated ninth in the All Breeds category and in the top twenty in Best of Breed (Chow).  He comes from champion lines and he loves competitions, “Quixote is a natural” said Linda.  This is not Quixote’s first trip to Westminster he was a very immature 19 months when he first participated in the Westminster Dog Show.  This time he is older, more experienced and very competitive. 

Victor Fernandez, one of Quixote’s owner’s wants people to know Quixote is a pet and family member.  Being a champion and a competitor is wonderful but at the end of the day Quixote goes home with Victor and Jeanne Fernandez where he is one of the three four legged members of the Fernandez family.

Victor and Jeanne got their first Chow 22 years ago at South Street Seaport and they have never looked back.  They have learned a lot since that first chow. They learned about pet shops and puppy mills and how unscrupulous breeders routinely over breed. They also learned the hard way, how “pedigree” dogs suffer the consequences of poor breeding practices.  They have been getting their dogs exclusively from E-lin breeders in Hauppauge for years.   

Linda Albert a co-owner of Quixote is also his handler and will be in the ring with him at Westminster.  Linda, along with her mother Elaine has been breeding Chows Chows in Hauppauge for twenty-six years. They operate under the name of E-lin and are involved in Chow Rescue and Pet Adoption League.  Responsible breeding is what they are all about.  They follow self-imposed rules to ensure that those who purchase their dogs are prepared to deal with the challenges of owning a chow. Linda is proud of the long-term relationships they have developed with the owners of their dogs.  Martha Stewart’s dogs PawPaw and Kublai Kahn were both E-lin dogs.   

Quixote will be competing Monday, February14 at around noon.  Both Victor and Linda are feeling good about the event.  After the event Victor will bring Quixote home where he will be able to play outside in the backyard and do Quixote’s second favorite thing roughhouse with Victor. Oh, and what is Quixote’s favorite activity? Driving around in a golf cart in South Carolina.

While many will be watching and hoping for Quixote to win, Victor Fernandez takes it all in stride, “no matter what the outcome is, I know my dogs are the best.” Good luck Quixote!  

Update on Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 10:40AM by .

Quixote was not selected to participate in the Westminster final round. According to Elaine Albert co-owner of E-Lin where Quixote was bred, “that’s the way it goes with competitions.”  Quixote will be competing in the Rockland Dog Show and at the All Chow Chow National Club Inc. in Sacramento in April.