VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Should women be allowed to vote? Or should they stay home…cook, clean and take care of the children? That is the topic of the play, “Persistence” which focuses on the role of Suffragist Elizabeth Preston Anderson who was a Tower City-Valley City native (with relatives still in the area) and a key figure in the fight in North Dakota to allow women to vote.
The play will be presented on Thursday, June 17 at 8 pm in the Hi-Liner Activity Center. Everyone is welcome to attend this free event.
It is a readers theater presentation featuring a local cast and directed by Carol Foth. This true-story heroine (Suffragist Elizabeth Preston Anderson) will be played by Robin Allebach who serves in the music faculty at Valley City State University. Her strong ally (Suffragist Linda Slaughter) is played by Colette Jensen, a theater buff and owner of Circle of Friends Preschool.
For over 50 years the women of North Dakota fought to get the right to vote. In 1917 they finally succeeded, but were only allowed to vote for certain offices. Then in 1920 the women’s right to vote was passed nationally and ratified by the states so that it became part of the U.S. Constitution. The play “Persistence” tells the story of how the women of North Dakota persisted over those many years.
The author of the play is Kathleen Coudle King, associate teaching professor in the UND English Department, and award winning playwright.
The community is invited to attend both the 8 pm play, but also to come a little early if you would like to attend the Barnes County Historical Society annual meeting at 7 pm, and the 7:30 pm dedication of the Elizabeth Preston Anderson National Votes for Women historical marker which was placed on the south west corner of the courthouse block, to recognize the work Anderson did in North Dakota and nationally.
The play is sponsored by the ND Women’s Suffrage Centennial Committee and locally by What in the World Is Going On. For more information call 845-7321.
