At last night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice proposed an idea for a town-wide celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The centennial of women winning the right to vote is next Aug. 18, 2020.
The idea was sparked in part by a particular local connection to the amendment’s passage.
“I thought this would warrant it. When I was at the Ambler Farm benefit, they talked about Hannah Ambler, her diary talks about the whole time leading up to when women first were able to vote in Wilton. She and the females in her family were the first to vote [in town],” Vanderslice explained. adding that events could be coordinated with Ambler Farm, the Wilton Historical Society, the Wilton Library and the Wilton Schools.
The commemoration could include a parade as one of the events, an idea which the other selectmen seemed to approve of. They agreed the anniversary was something almost everyone could unite behind. Along those lines, Vanderslice suggested the celebration be timed to occur before August, to put some distance between it and weeks leading up to the national elections in November–something with which Selectwoman Deb McFadden agreed.
“It would be bi-partisan, we won’t make it political,” she said.
Vanderslice said she’s hoping to put together a working committee to plan the event, with volunteers who aren’t typically involved in civic events–and pointed out that she’s looking for broader diversity to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote: “Certainly, there should be some men involved.”