History

Hoffberger, founder of the American Visionary Museum in Federal Hill, ecstatic but humbled by the honor, was in great company. She joined the ranks of three other living and six deceased women whose great strides have forever altered our state for the better.

(Although not counted among the 10, a special nod was also given to Maryland’s “unsung heroines,” of whom there are surely too many to name.)

In April, an all-female panel (see sidebar) was charged with choosing the nominees. The group agonized over the final selection, poring over notes, history books, and modern publications before finally narrowing the list.

“As we exchanged thoughts on the names and enduring contributions of so many amazing women, it became evident that Maryland boasts a long line of notable women whose impact has literally changed the face of our great state in positive and lasting ways,” says Marlene Young, vice president of Great Southern Enterprises and honorary chair of the magazine’s Maryland Board.

“While some did so in spite of adverse circumstances and often seemingly insurmountable hardship, all of their contributions greatly altered and enriched our state.”

Despite their strong objections and recusals from voting, two panelists—Carmen Delgado Votaw and Jill Moss Greenberg—were themselves elected to the final list.

Panelist Sharon Pinder, an architect and president and CEO of the Pinder Group, delighted in bringing “long overdue” attention to the women who’ve changed Maryland.

“Part of the beauty is that you get to learn who some of these women are,” she says. “And once you understand their contributions, you also get a sense of pride that comes with it. This is how great lessons are learned.”

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The Unsung Heroines

The Maryland Women’s Heritage Center (MWHC) in Baltimore recognizes that it is time to pay tribute to the state’s innumerable behind-the-scenes champions.

“We want to hear the stories of your unsung heroines—the mothers, grandmothers, spouses, partners, daughters, sisters, teachers, nurses, crossing guards, and other girls and women—who have played significant roles in your lives, your communities, or your workplaces,” says Jill Moss Greenberg, executive director of the MWHC.

David Nevins, head of Nevins and Associates and an MWHC board member, believes that the MWHC is an important means of supporting and honoring the contributions women have made to the state. He particularly likes the idea of saluting unsung heroines.

“My father died when I was very young,” he says. “Some of my motivation in being involved in this is as a form of honoring my own unsung heroine, my mother.”

Honor your unsung heroine by mailing, emailing, faxing, or dropping off information about the women who’ve made a difference in your life. The materials will be permanently preserved at the center, in its archives, and on its website.

“Write a story, send an article, or provide a funeral program,” urges Greenberg. Do “whatever is special to you so that we may reflect upon and help honor these people and value what they’ve done for all of us.”

For more information, contact the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center at  http://mdwomensheritagecenter.publishpath.com/unsung-heroines.

Rachel Carson

Considered the founder of the environmental movement, ecologist and author Rachel Carson received her master’s degree in zoology from the Johns Hopkins University in 1932. She worked for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries during the Depression and supplemented her income by writing articles on natural history for the Baltimore Sun, according to biographer Linda Lear, author of Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature.

Carson quickly rose through the federal service ranks, eventually landing the job of editor-in-chief of all publications for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She remained in public service until 1952, when she published the prize-winning The Sea Around Us. Other books on nature followed and, in 1962, Carson published her seminal work, Silent Spring, which outlined the government and the chemical industry’s damaging of the environment.