Pioneering in Washington territory was no place for shrinking violets. Men and women labored side by side to take advantage of the opportunity that the new western land could offer. Self-sufficiency was the necessary characteristic for successful pioneers. Due to the prevalence of illnesses and accidents, there was a need for everyone in the family to pitch in to survive in the late 1800s Washington state.

Maybe in part because of the more equal distribution of the workload, the idea of women’s suffrage was not as shocking to the pioneers in the west as it was in the eastern states. However, even with more progressive attitudes, Washington women achieved and lost the vote multiple times before women’s suffrage became a part of the state Constitution in 1910.

One major concern was that women would be tainted by political involvement and might not tend to home and family responsibilities. The suffragists wanted to ease that concern, showing that women could of course balance their civic involvement without jeopardizing their families.

In 1908, The Washington Equal Suffrage Association published the “Washington Women’s Cook Book” partially as a fundraiser for the continued efforts to win the vote and partially as a way to appease those who were concerned that suffragists couldn’t cook or keep house. The book opens with this quote on its title page:

“Give us the vote and we will cook / The better for a wide outlook.”

Filled with recipes collected from women throughout the state, the cook book also included handy hints on household economy and hints for beauty and hygiene. Naturally, it was also interspersed with articles on the right to vote for women – including a worldwide “birds-eye view of the progress of the suffrage movement up to date” – up to 1909 that is!

Skagit League of Women Voters member Mary Jane Golden recently obtained a copy of the cookbook and was excited to find that its editor was a woman from La Conner: Linda Deziah Jennings. Educated at the University of Washington, Jennings supported herself throughout her life with her writing for several magazines and newspapers. She wrote about women’s suffrage, championed civil rights and served as a speaker for the Skagit farmers Institute.

La Conner residents deserve to be proud of this contribution to Washington Women’s suffrage and the acknowledgement that “good cooking and sure voting went hand in hand,” to quote the 1909 Washington Women’s Cook Book.

Sanderson is president of the League of Women Voters of Skagit County. August 18 is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment and women gaining the vote in the United States.