03/01/2026
Women’s History Month is a national reminder to recognize the leadership, achievements, and lasting impact of women — and to continue building on the foundation they laid.
For 150 years at Gaynor Cranberry Company, women have been central to sustaining and shaping each generation of our farm. Their time, talent, and tenacity protected what was built before them and strengthened what we steward today.
I’m proud to stand alongside the “Gaynor Girls” — past and present — whose influence reaches far beyond the marsh. From our farm, to our community, to the tables where our cranberries are shared, their legacy continues to nourish more than just a harvest.
Women’s History Month began as a local celebration. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day. The movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year.
In 1980, a coalition of women’s organizations and historians—led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance)—successfully advocated for national recognition of women’s contributions to American history. That same year, President Jimmy Carter issued a Presidential Proclamation designating National Women’s History Week.
In 1981, Congress authorized President Ronald Reagan to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.” In his proclamation, President Reagan recognized the indispensable role women have played in shaping our nation—across every race, creed, and background. He noted that women were not only instrumental in securing their own rights, including suffrage and equal opportunity, but also leaders in abolition, temperance, mental health reform, labor reform, social reform, and the modern civil rights movement.
By 1987, Congress expanded the observance, designating the entire month of March as Women’s History Month and requesting an annual presidential proclamation to encourage nationwide recognition through activities and ceremonies.
For more historical context:
Statement by the President on National Women's History Week
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-president-national-womens-history-week
Women's History Month
https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month
