Bridgewater Woman’s Club 'Herstory' Tree At Festival of Trees

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — What do Ida Rosenthal, Queen Latifah, and Virgina Apgar have in common?

They are some of the notable women of New Jersey who are featured on the handmade ornaments displayed on the Bridgewater Woman’s Club’s "Herstory" Tree.

The tree can be seen, along with other themed trees, during the month of December at the Somerset County Environmental Education Center’s Festival of Trees in Basking Ridge.

The Festival of Trees is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 28 at 190 Lord Stirling Road in Basking Ridge. The festival is closed Dec. 22, 24, and 25.

The Club’s Herstory Tree highlights 30 New Jersey female entrepreneurs, businesswomen, artists, inventors, athletes, as well as other noteworthy women. Their accomplishments are noted on the tree’s storyboard.

These women forged the way for the women of today and made significant achievements in their fields. While some of the women highlighted may be well known, such as Christine Todd Whitman (first woman Governor of NJ), and Whitney Houston (eight-time Grammy-winning singer and actress), others may not be household names.

But what they did had significance nonetheless.

Erna Schneider Hoover, a mathematician, invented a computerized telephone switching method and obtained the world’s first software patent. Ruth St. Denis was a central figure in the development of the modern dance movement.

Elizabeth Coleman White, a horticulturist, developed the nation’s first cultivated blueberry.

Kathleen “Kay” Ann Hilbrandt became one of the first female mechanics for Eastern Aircraft and
was a pilot in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during WW II.

Many notable women faced challenges but they persevered, such as Mary Philbrook who lobbied the NJ Legislature for a law that would allow women to practice law. She was originally denied to the NJ State Bar Association because it was stated that the NJ Bar Association had no women in it.

Alice Stokes Paul was a suffragist, feminist, and a women’s right activist who championed the 19 th Amendment to the US Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

Mary Ginhart Herbert Roebling, was the first woman to serve as president of a major US commercial bank. She had to enter board meetings through the back door because the meetings were typically held in all-male clubs.

We thank all of these women, and the millions of other women not named, for what they did to make New Jersey and the world a better place.

— Bridgewater Woman's Club