A Glimpse into the Lives of Southwest Women - Julia Morgan, Maria Martinez and Isabella Greenway

Edith Mayo recently returned as a guest on our special ‘Southwest Women in History’ online radio show to talk about the skilled New Mexican potter, Maria Martinez; and Julia Morgan, the architect who built the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California; and Isabella Greenway, Arizona’s first Congresswoman.

All three of these strong women accomplished many ‘first’s’ for women in their time. Based in southern Arizona, Isabella Greenway, a close friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, became Arizona’s first Congresswoman. She also built a furniture factory that provided work for WWI veterans, and later built the Arizona Inn. Maria Martinez was from the Indian pueblo, San Ildefonso, in New Mexico. Maria and her husband Julian worked together, and their pottery re-invigorated the art of Indian pottery both artistically and economically. Julia Morgan, one of the first female architects, was also known for networking through women's organizations to meet her clients. Besides the building of the famous Hearts Castle (see photo courtesy of San Luis Obispo County Visitors & Convention Bureau) , she built many YMCAs, and was known for her Crafts Houses.

To listen to our interview with Edith Mayo on SouthwestBlend.com’s  ‘Champagne Sundays’ special ‘Southwest Women in History’ online Radio Show on Sunday, March 9^th, 2008, please double-click on the play button below.

Edith is Curator Emeritus in Political History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where she worked for over thirty-five years as a curator and historian. At NMAH, she actively collected for the Museum’s holdings in women’s history, politics, civil rights, and voting rights, and strongly advocated the importance of 20th century collecting in museums. Mayo was several times elected to the National Council of the American Studies Association. Edith lectures widely on women’s history and the First Ladies and serves as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. In 2002, she curated and scripted Enterprising Women, a national traveling exhibition on women business entrepreneurs for the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Research, Harvard University.