Jennie Powers: The Woman Who Dares
Wednesday, January 22
6:30 pm
Historical Society of Cheshire County
Exhibit Hall.
Jennie Powers was a Progressive Era woman who stood up against social vices in New Hampshire and Vermont in the early 20th century. She was a humane society agent in Keene, NH, from 1903-1936, and one of the first humane society agents to become a deputy sheriff in New Hampshire. Jennie was known across the country as The Woman Who Dares, cited by the Boston Post newspaper as having arrested more men than any other woman in America in 1906. As a photographic activist, she used her camera to document animal cruelty, family violence, and wide-spread poverty in New Hampshire’s Monadnock region and beyond. This one-hour slide presentation introduces attendees to Jennie’s life story, the work of humane societies at the turn of the 20th century, and the Progressive Era (1890s-1920s) from a local perspective.
This program is the first of the Celebrating Empowered Women in Cheshire County series of programs.