The unheralded contributions made by women to San Diego's social and cultural
development over the past century cannot be easily plucked from a casual survey
of the city's history. But, fortunately there rest in the heavy files of the
Title Insurance and Trust Company Historical Collection hundreds of wonderful
photographs of the women in San Diego's yesterday. The images fairly leap from
those faded pictures and vibrate with character, charm and courage despite the
frequent anonymity of women's "place" in the past. Historians and others have
often over-looked the contributions of women to a city's destiny, yet it is
clear that the strength of the people in the following photographs affected the
parts played by all of us on today's stage.
The early settlers of San Diego were women and men of spirit
and determination. They arrived on foot, in wagons and ships after crossing
treacherous plains and seas to begin life anew. In those beginning days
burdens for most everyone were heavy, but they were often heaviest for women.
Alongside the men they cleared the land, furrowed and sowed for planting
and built the first homes. And all the while they carried San Diego's
future in their arms and in their wombs. Who were these women? What
was their influence on the city's destiny?
So many of San Diego's women, a few celebrated but the
majority long forgotten, prompted people to finally look at what counts most in
human beings—simple merit. The niche of women in the city's past was a quiet
one, but it was solid and broadened with social change. Unaware of their place
in a vanguard, these women broke down the barriers to excellence and
fulfillment for their sex and in so doing they rerouted old paths to the pursuit
of liberty and happiness. They persevered against mighty odds and their small
victories really proved to be large. They created hope.
