Provided/Seniors at Seashore Gardens Living Center celebrated the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP – A group of women who reside at Seashore Gardens Living Center recognized the 100th anniversary of the women’s right to vote on Aug. 26. Many of the women who live at the center are the first or second generation of women to vote in their families, and all stressed the importance of having their voices heard.
“I think it’s important for everyone to vote, especially women,” said Lucille Corrado, the first woman to vote in her family. “We’ve only recently begun to take advantage of our rights. For many years, we were focused on families. After World War II, we started becoming more active in the affairs of the state. I used to travel all over, and I could see how women were treated, held down and oppressed.”
Lillian Stoehr doesn’t consider herself political but over the years, she has supported women’s rights as well as civil rights and the environment.
Shirley Berntstein, who considers herself somewhat political, has shared her voice on nuclear power, gun laws, climate change, abortion, civil rights and desegregation.
“My mother was the first woman in my family to vote,” she said. “I think it’s important for women to vote. We care deeply about the issues that affect everyday living.”
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratifed on Aug. 26, 1920 and came about after decades of campaigning to grant American women the power to vote in all U.S. elections. Today, Aug. 26 is known as Women’s Equality Day.
According to a 2019 report from Rutgers University Center for American Women and Politics, voter turnout rates for women have equaled or exceed voter turnout rates for men, and women outnumber men among registered voters.
At SGLC, of the 24 women asked, five were the first women in their families to vote and two had older sisters who voted before them. The remainder had mothers, great aunts or grandmothers who were among the first women to vote.
“My mother insisted that her children vote regularly,” said Shelley Bernstein. “She took it very seriously and would not reveal her party or candidate to anyone.”
Margaret was inspired to become an election judge for the Democrat Party for eight years.
“If a woman could marry, raise a family, graduate college, go to work in order to help with the finances, she without a doubt should have every right to vote,” she said.
All of the women at SGLC encourage everyone to get out the vote on Nov. 3.
The Simon & Sylvia Zisman Seashore Gardens Living Center is a nonprofit home for the aged, guided by Jewish tradition, law, and charity, dedicated to enriching the quality of life for its residents.
