Jessie Morgan Kirkby – 1961 – Howe St Lansing Michigan
Women’s History Month is a time to not only celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of women but to learn about women that have been forgotten. As a kid, I often wondered things like “who invented the baby bottle?” as I was always thinking I could invent something. What I learned was that often inventions that were created by women were made out of necessity and need and not remarked but passed on from generation to generation. The proverb “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” dates back to Plato.
My grandmother, Jessie Morgan Kirkby, taught me much about sewing, manners, life and gardening including, “plant your peas by the dark of the moon in March if you can work the ground.” If you live in Ohio or Michigan that would be March 13, 2021. For years, I thought this was something magical and I would go out and crawl around in the dark with a flash light planting my seeds. Grandma being long gone, couldn’t tell me that I could do it in the daytime. But, the science is if you plant your seeds by the dark of the moon, when they sprout, which with peas it will be about 2 weeks later, they will get more light from the spring moonlight. I learned that in a farming class I took in my 30’s.
The knowledge of our past mothers, whether biological or mentored, is given freely and often the “why” gets lost but the success remains. This month, I plan to find women that have made a difference that are often forgotten and also some that we all need to follow and bring their story to life as they are changing the world we live in for good. 
If you are in the Toledo area and with spring coming, I suggest you meet some of these women in our area. The Women’s History Month committee put together 4 walking tours where you can download the story and wander our streets meet women you may not know about or you may know and didn’t know the connection to Toledo. There is no direct link, but if you scroll down at Women’s History Month, you’ll find the link to the 4 downloads.