By Sally Carpenter Hale, Communications Chair, LWV Clark County

Inspirational tales of local heroes were part of “She Did That!,” a Women’s History Month event sponsored by the Clark County League as part of Downtown Vancouver’s First Friday series. The March 6 event brought 119 people to the Clark County Historical Museum for an evening of fun, food and stories.

Washington state League President Karen Crowley delivered the keynote speech, urging attendees to be bold in defending democracy. A spokesman from the League of United Latin American Citizens talked about local efforts to provide immigrants with legal and housing assistance.

Three other speakers told stories about local heroes. Paul Porter of the Clark County  NAACP remembered his grandmother, activist Minnie Porter; archeologist Doug Wilson spoke of the Meti women of Fort Vancouver; and Chinook elder Sam Robinson told the story of his ancestor, Ch'isht. Also known as Catherine Huckswelt, Ch’isht was married to 1851 treaty signer Thomas Huckswelt and was known for her remarkable memory of tribal ancestral trees.

The March 6 event was capped with an entertaining reprise of the “Match Game,” featuring famous women from the 1970s. The “participants” were Shirley Chisholm, Janis Joplin, Gloria Steinem, Phyllis Schafley, Bette Miller, Margaret Thatcher. 

The League provided “Resist Threats to Democracy” resources, a Spin the Wheel game, live music and tamales, chips and salsa. 

In her speech, Crowley urged the audience to counter the daily threats to democracy.

“By demanding federal intervention in state and local elections, the Trump administration is working overtime to create intimidation, chaos and confusion,” she said.

“We need to be bold. We need to name names, call out actors who are behaving in ways that are supremely against our principles. We need to be loud. We need to be visible and unapologetic when speaking truth to power.” 

She urged the crowd to get involved by joining an organization, attending city council and school board meetings, observing local elections—and, most importantly, by voting. 

“Every day there’s another threat, another challenge. So we need to be nimble … and we need to be working in coalition with allies and partners who are doing this work together,” Crowley said