{"id":3849,"date":"2012-02-21T14:49:24","date_gmt":"2012-02-21T14:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/digitalheritage.org\/?p=3849"},"modified":"2023-06-20T13:20:53","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T13:20:53","slug":"gertrude-dills-mckee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/2012\/02\/21\/gertrude-dills-mckee\/","title":{"rendered":"Gertrude Dills McKee"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gertrude Dills McKee, daughter of the founder of Dillsboro, North Carolina, married local businessman Ernest Lyndon McKee.\u00a0 She worked actively for various civic causes.\u00a0 In 1928, her interest in politics was stimulated when she joined with her husband in campaigning for the re-election of Congressman Zebulon Weaver.\u00a0 Two years later, she ran for the State Senate.\u00a0 She was overwhelmingly elected, becoming the first woman to serve in North Carolina in that capacity.\u00a0 She went on the serve four terms in all.\u00a0 As a Senator, she focused on public welfare and education issues.\u00a0 In 1939, Western Carolina Teacher\u2019s College, now known as Western Carolina University, honored her for her two terms as a Trustee by naming its new teacher training building for her.\u00a0 The building was recently renovated and remains a campus focal point.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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GERTRUDE DILLS MCKEE (1885 \u2013 1948)<\/h2>\n

A woman\u2019s place is in the home \u2013 and in the Senate!<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Megan Griffin M.A. American History WCU 2012<\/p>\n

Sonrisa Crespin M.A. American History WCU 2013<\/p>\n

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Born and raised in Dillsboro, NC and known affectionately throughout Jackson County as \u201cGert\u201d or \u201cMiss Gert,\u201d Gertrude Dills McKee was a pioneer in North Carolina politics.\u00a0 A woman of boundless energy and enthusiasm, she dedicated her unusual gifts of intellect, personality, and leadership in lifelong service to the people of her state.<\/p>\n

Gert graduated with First Honors from Peace Institute in Raleigh, NC in 1905 as president of her class.\u00a0 She was a teacher at Dillsboro Graded School until 1913, when she married businessman and civic leader Ernest Lyndon McKee.<\/p>\n

Mrs. McKee\u2019s lifetime spanned a period of social, political, and economic changes for women. An active clubwoman, she was president of the state chapters of several influential women\u2019s clubs. In 1930, Gert was the Democratic nominee for the North Carolina State Senate.\u00a0 She was elected by the largest majority of any candidate on the ticket, becoming the first woman to serve in the North Carolina State Senate.<\/p>\n

As a legislator, Gert was responsible for \u201csome of the most constructive and far-reaching legislation ever enacted\u201d according to NC Commissioner of Public Welfare, Mrs. W. T. Bost. \u00a0Always active, the energetic Gert also sat on numerous boards and commissions, was a devoted church worker, and supported defense efforts in both World Wars.<\/p>\n

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Gert\u2019s hard work was recognized by voters, who returned her to the Senate for three additional non-consecutive terms in the years 1937, 1943, and 1948. During her 1943 term, The State<\/em> magazine speculated on the possibility of her becoming North Carolina\u2019s first female governor.\u00a0 On November 27, 1948, she died of a sudden heart attack three weeks after being elected to the Senate for a fourth term.<\/p>\n

McKee biographer Joan Wright Ferguson noted Gert\u2019s amazing ability to adapt to any situation. \u201cShe could join in a backyard ballgame one day and introduce Eleanor Roosevelt the next; she could sell war bonds in Sylva and dedicate a monument in Gettysburg; she could bake a cake for a church dinner and talk down a senator in Raleigh.\u201d\u00a0 Some even called her \u201cthe smartest man in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Multimedia:<\/h3>\n

Below is the Digital Heritage Moment as broadcast on the radio:<\/h2>\n[audio:http:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Gertrude60Mx.mp3|titles=Gertrude60Mx]\n

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Gertrude Dills McKee, daughter of the founder of Dillsboro, North Carolina, married local businessman Ernest Lyndon McKee. She worked actively for various civic causes. . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[171,248,311,393,513,563],"class_list":["post-3849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-people","tag-dillsboro","tag-gertrude-dills-mckee","tag-jackson-county","tag-nc-senate","tag-sylva","tag-western-carolina-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3849"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7548,"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3849\/revisions\/7548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.wcu.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}