Continuing the Fight
As this article from the North Central Chronicle shows, woman suffrage continued to be an item of interest among students even after Fanny Eyre Smith and her contemporaries left the area. This article is one of several that appear in the Chronicle between 1888 and 1920. They were usually in support of suffrage, and they were usually written by women students.
The 1910s marked the last great push to secure women’s right to vote, culminating in the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920. Though not much evidence remains of North-Western College women’s contributions to this effort, this photo of a woman suffrage float in the 1914 Booster Day parade demonstrates their continued advocacy. The photo was available on postcards for purchase and was published in the 1915 college yearbook. Before Homecoming became an official college activity in 1920, Booster Day was a day in the middle of May when alumni and students would gather to “boost” the college with presentations, activities, and a parade with floats through downtown Naperville.