Gladys Beckwith has dedicated her adult life to making sure women are more than a footnote in the history of Michigan.
At an age where most people are slowing down, the 75-year-old retired Michigan State University professor works long hours as president of the Michigan Women's Studies Association and as executive director of the Michigan Women's Historical Center & Hall of Fame in Lansing. She receives no pay in either job.
"Gladys has performed an invaluable public service by single-handedly making sure that the contributions of Michigan women are known to all, particularly those young girls who -- because of Gladys -- will grow up knowing that all things are possible in their lifetime," said Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year, joining 206 other women whose accomplishments are on public display.
Beckwith grew up as an only child in Flint and recalls that her early role models were her mother ("a very strong woman") and Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and an outspoken advocate for social reform.
"Mrs. Roosevelt was making radio broadcasts, which many people criticized her for," Beckwith said. "I respected what she was doing."
Beckwith went on to earn a trio of degrees from MSU -- a B.A. in English in 1951, a Master's in English in '56 and a Ph.D. in education in '67. She joined the faculty in the Department of American Thought and Language, retiring in 1999 after 32 years. She and her husband, Gerald, who died in 1987, had one daughter, Christine, 54.
In her early teaching days, she grew increasingly frustrated by the glaring lack of course materials for and about women. In 1973, she and a small cadre of colleagues formed the Michigan Women's Studies Association -- the first of its kind in the nation -- to bring more visibility to the role of women in history and to push for the development of women's studies programs at all of the state's colleges and universities.
Beckwith decided there should be an off-campus component to the effort as well. In 1979, she found out that the City of Lansing was planning to raze the Cooley-Haze House. With customary intensity, she negotiated a $1-a-year lease with the city, contingent on $250,000 worth of repairs and upgrades to the turn-of-the-century house.
"We had about $1,100 in our treasury," Beckwith recalls with a chuckle. After years of fund-raising efforts, the Michigan Women's Historical Center & Hall of Fame opened on June 10, 1987.
The Hall of Fame is indeed a walk through history. Even without a building, inductions began in 1983. Included in that first group were the likes of Sojourner Truth -- a former slave, abolitionist, preacher and women's rights advocate -- and Martha Griffiths, the first woman to serve as Michigan's lieutenant governor.
The Hall, which inducts as many as 10 honorees each year, also includes Michigan-born entertainers such as "The Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin, Lily Tomlin and the late Gilda Radner.
Some, such as First Lt. Aleda Lutz, are lesser known but have fascinating stories. Lutz, a flight nurse, received the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944, during World War II, after she was killed in a plane crash during an evacuation of wounded soldiers in Italy. Lutz flew 196 missions that evacuated more than 3,500 men.
Beckwith is proud of the advances women have made in recent decades. But she said pay equity remains an elusive goal, too many lower-income women can't afford health care and day care, and a woman's right to choose is always under fire.
"So there is a lot that needs to happen yet. And we need to be vigilant to preserve the gains that we have made," she said.
Patricia Cuza, vice president of the Michigan Women's Studies Association and a former director of Michigan Women's Commission, said it would be "almost impossible to replace Gladys.
"She is the visionary. She is devoted to making sure that women's history in Michigan is preserved and passed on to future generations."
Charlie Cain
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