Powerful and influential women from the city will be honored
today
The women of Morgan Hill’s history were a feisty bunch. Diana Hill – wife of Hiram Morgan Hill, for whom the town would eventually be named – married her husband in secret. Sada Coe gave her family’s land to form Coe State Park after living a life spent mostly in the saddle, despite the time she spent in eastern boarding schools.
These women weren’t just delicate flowers; they were women with power and personality, and they are being honored today in honor of Morgan Hill’s centennial celebrations and Women’s History Month.
“We did this last year, and it was done with women in history but not necessarily women associated with Morgan Hill,” said Marby Lee, who will emcee the event. “We decided to do it again this year because it was a great event and because we thought it would be good to focus on women in Morgan Hill’s history in honor of the centennial.”
Members of the Morgan Hill chapter of American Association of University Women will dress up in period costumes and recite monologues about the women they are portraying. The costumes come from Gavilan College theater’s costume rental program. The members will also answer questions about the women’s lives and the importance of the roles they played in Morgan Hill’s history. The historical women represented will include Diana Murphy Hill, Catherine Murphy Dunne and Sada Coe, among others.
Morgan Hill resident Margo Hinnenkamp will portray Isola Kennedy. Kennedy earned her place in history books when she took five boys from her Sunday school class on a picnic in July 1909. During the picnic, a rabid mountain lion attacked one of the boys. Kennedy attempted to protect the boy and shield the other four by fighting off the mountain lion with her 8-inch hat pin. She was subsequently attacked, and both she and the boy eventually died of rabies, Hinnenkamp said. At the time, Kennedy was president of the Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties Temperence Society, which led the anti-drinking movement at the time. The Temperence Society erected a large headstone for Kennedy in Morgan Hill’s graveyard to honor her heroism.
The presentation will also include a video of interviews with longtime Morgan Hill residents. Some residents featured are in their 80s and have lived in the area since the 1920s, Lee said. All the residents are women to honor Women’s History Month. Residents will talk about what it was like growing up in Morgan Hill, how the city has changed and memories they have of their lives in the area.
Get in character
– The American Association of University Women will commemorate Morgan Hill’s centennial and Women’s History Month at 2pm today at the performing arts center at Sobrato High School, 401 Burnett Ave. in Morgan Hill. The event is free and open to the public. Info: (408) 776-7867.
