By Jane Feehan
Broward County can boast about a few female firsts. Below are several of these "first women" who made significant contributions to our local history. Lifespan dates are included when found. Also, some milestone dates vary in different sources but do not impact the significance of their contributions.
Eva Oliver or Mrs. Frank Oliver (1883-1964) – Eva Bryan and Frank Oliver were married in 1902, making theirs, according to some news accounts, the first wedding in the settlement of Fort Lauderdale. They stood in a rowboat while Capt. William Valentine read vows from the bank of the New River. A number of firsts can be attributed to her: first woman to drive a car in Fort Lauderdale; among the first to be baptized in the New River. A suffragette, Eva was active in town civic activities. She was the first president of the Woman’s Civic Improvement Society, the predecessor to the Woman’s Club of Fort Lauderdale.
Eula Gandy Johnson (1906-2001) - The first woman president of the Fort Lauderdale NAACP (1959-1967), this Georgia native moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1935. She owned a grocery store and two gas stations on Sistrunk Boulevard. Johnson was known for her fight to defeat Jim Crow laws, including those that kept Fort Lauderdale beaches segregated. Johnson, along with Dr. Von D. Mizell supported the first of 200 swim-ins the summer of 1961 that led to equal access by Blacks to the city's beaches.
Margaret Linardy (1903-1986) – First female mayor in Florida. She was elected mayor of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in 1947 when the town was incorporated for the second time (the first time was in 1933). She served one term.
Easter Lily (or Lilly) Gates (1889-1985) - The first female school bus driver in Broward County. Her husband died shortly after the 1926 hurricane; Gates took up bus driving to support her family. A hat maker by trade (and later known for appearing in many of her over-the-top-millinery creations), Gates was elected Broward County Supervisor of Voting Registration in 1928 (some say 1929), making her the first woman elected to office in Broward County. She was tapped the first female president of the State Supervisors of Elections in 1938. While serving Broward County, Ms. Gates registered the first Black and Seminole Indian voters. She held office for 40 years.
Katherine Rawls (1917-1982) – First woman to win four national swimming championships at a single meet (1932); winner of 33 national diving and swimming titles. Katy brought home bronze and silver medals from the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. In 1937, the Associated Press named Rawls the “Number One Athlete of the Year” among female competitors. Rawls was the first person, the first woman, to be inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame in 1965. (See index for more on Rawls)
Bette Mae Tiger Jumper (1923-2011) also known as "Potackee," was the first and only woman elected to chair of the Seminole Tribe of Florida (1967). A woman of several firsts, Jumper was the first Seminole to earn a high school diploma. She was also the Tribe's first Health Director. She was one of two women appointed by President Richard Nixon to the National Congress of Indian Opportunity.
Lillian M. Smith – the first woman tax collector in Florida, this Fort Lauderdale resident was tapped as Broward County Tax Collector in 1925. She replaced Mr. W.O. Berryhill who resigned because of his health. It was also said he wanted to work in the real estate business, a booming sector that year.
Alice Guy Blaché (1873- 1968) – Though not from Fort Lauderdale, this French-born filmmaker was one of the first women to write, direct and produce a film. She brought a crew from her New Jersey studio to Fort Lauderdale in 1917 to make Spring of the Year. Blaché chose the city for its tropical, swampy environment. She is also considered by some to be the first in the industry to develop narrative films. For more, use search box.
Louise Virginia Kirk – A Hollywood resident, she was the first woman inmate of the newly constructed jail cells for women in Hallandale. She was arrested Feb. 6, 1960 for an alleged traffic violation that escalated to disorderly conduct. Ms. Kirk looked at the bright side of her incarceration, however, and claimed she’d as soon stay in jail than face house cleaning the next day. No doubt she prefigured the women’s movement of the following decade ... 😊
Sources:
Fort Lauderdale News, Oct. 16, 1925
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 13, 1928
Fort Lauderdale News, Sept. 8, 1937
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 30, 1950
Fort Lauderdale News, Feb. 6, 1960
Fort Lauderdale News, Jan. 22, 1978
https://flwomenshalloffame.org/
SoFla Times
Roots web genealogy
Broward.org
Tags: Female firsts of Broward County, Fort Lauderdale history, Broward County history, women's history, African American History, Seminole history