Her Ruby Shoe Moment Mary Katharine Goddard carefully lifted the large piece of paper from her printing press and set it on the table. She put on her glasses and examined every inch of the document. If she was going to commit treason against the British King, she wanted her handiwork to be perfect. On January 18, 1777, the Second … Read More
Rita Moreno
Her Ruby Shoe Moment On a summer day in June 1976, actress Rita Moreno found herself on a soundstage in England singing the song “Fever.” She was accompanied by members of the band Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem. The musicians were puppets, with the wildest one being the drummer, Animal. They were taping an episode of Jim Henson’s new … Read More
Jody Williams
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Jody Williams was exhausted when she finally reached her hotel room in London. But she was too excited to sleep. It was May, 1993. She just wrapped up her first international conference regarding landmines. And it was a success. As coordinator for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), her job was to raise awareness of … Read More
Dorothea Lange
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Dorothea Lange just finished a field assignment for the Farm Securities Administration. She had been on the road for about a month and was anxious to get home. It was March, 1936 and America was in the middle of the Great Depression. Dorothea drove along a rural road near Nipomo, California when saw the sign for … Read More
Alice Huyler Ramsey
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Alice Ramsey stood in the pouring rain on Broadway Street in Manhattan. She was anxious to get going, but had to wait for pictures to be taken. Finally, around 10 a.m. on June 9, 1909, Alice used all her muscle to turn the crank at the front of the car and start the motor. A number … Read More
Helen Purviance
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Helen Purviance dodged cold raindrops as she trudged through the mud to the army commissary on October 19, 1917. Her friend Margaret Sheldon was waiting for her back at the Salvation Army canteen hut where they both worked. Helen and Margaret had arrived at an army camp in Eastern France about 6 weeks earlier as part … Read More
Etta Cone
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Etta Cone looked out the window of her eighth floor apartment. It was cold and rainy in Baltimore that day, December 17, 1930. And she was impatient for her visitor, Henri Matisse, to arrive. She still couldn’t believe he was visiting her small home, which was bursting at the seams with his art. By then, Matisse … Read More
Nellie Bly
Her Ruby Shoe Moment On November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly marched up the gangway of the steamship, August Victoria. She looked down at her friends and colleagues, who came to the dock to see her off. And it finally hit her — Nellie was about to race around the world. Her goal was to travel 28,000 miles in 75 days … Read More
Ynes Mexia
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Ynes Mexia stood on the deck of a steamer ship pulling into the port of Sinaloa, Mexico. It was a beautiful September day in 1926, and it had been a long trip from her home in San Francisco. Ynes was anxious to begin her first solo adventure as a botanist. At age 56, Ynes was … Read More
Alice Ball
Her Ruby Shoe Moment Alice Ball inspected the light colored liquid in her test tube. Then, she placed a drop into water and swirled it around. She smiled as the two liquids mixed together. It was 1915 and Alice just created the first effective treatment for leprosy — an injectable oil extract from the seeds of the chaulmoogra tree. And … Read More