Women in Wonderland: Lives Legends and Legacies of Yellowstone National Park Book Review
Legends and Legacies
Elizabeth A. Watry penned a collective biography released under the title Women in Wonderland: Lives, Legends, and Legacies of Yellowstone National Park. The fourteen histories focus on individuals with lasting impact on the park. Several were born in the 19th Century and two lived into the 21st Century. Alas none of them survive today.
Watry’s research is solid. End notes for each chapter are found at the conclusion of the book. Each chapter highlights a different heroine. All the women faced adversity either from the natural elements or the obstacles created by humans or from both.
Through the years, the reader can see the slow progress toward women’s equality. Many of the women far exceeded the accomplishments of their male counterparts just so they could work and live in Yellowstone. Each left a legacy.
Women in Wonderland
The book is comprised of twelve chapters. Two of the chapters highlight a combination of relatives. The third chapter spotlights sisters Anna Trischman Pryor and Elizabeth Trischman while the fifth showcases the mother-daughter pair Willie Frances Crawford Bronner and Jean Crawford Sharpe.
Other biographies include women acknowledged as Park Rangers as well as those who had to have other titles due to discriminatory attitudes against women in the park workforce.
Backgrounds varied from businesswomen to scientists, including Margaret Mary Meagher (1935-2023) recognized as the first female PhD. in wildlife biology to work for the National Park Service. Her seminal work on bison assured her renown long after her retirement from Yellowstone.
Biographies presented: Emma Carpenter Cowan, Martha Shipley Culver, Ida Christine Carlson Eagle, Beulah Brown Sanborn, Isabel Deming Bassett Wasson, Jane Marguerite Lindsley Arnold, Frances Eva Pound Wright, Herma Geneva Albertson Baggley, Eleanor May Hamilton Povah.
Evolving Treasure
Yellowstone National Park has evolved through the years and Watry portrays the change of the park while highlighting the women. Furthermore, much of the change is a result of the work of those women working in the wonderland of Yellowstone. Tourism has taken a back seat to preserving nature, wilderness and wildlife. Geysers, melting mud pots, waterfalls and other geological features still delight visitors. Explanations of the natural wonders stem from work and research through the years. And many of the researchers shine in the included biographies. Therefore, a focus on the natural habitat greets visitors today. We owe a great deal to the women in wonderland.
