KARLINE
K. TIERNEY I
was born in Auburn, New York, in 1926. My parents, Jane and Karl Koenen,
already had a daughter and assumed I would be a
boy, and I’d be Karl, Jr -- so they did not plan any girl’s names.
Thus, they added “ine” to my father’s name to suit the
situation. Later they had another daughter. We three sisters
Karline in front at 5years w/2
couisns My
mother, Jane Theobald, grew up in Waterloo and Seneca Falls, NY, living
back and forth between her grandmothers because her father died when she
was a year old. Her father’s
family instilled in her a love of education and encouraged her to
attend college. It did not happen , and she left school after 8th
grade. But it was her determination that my sisters and I go to college,
so important in our lives. My
grandfather, John Koenen, had left Germany as a teenager on the
advice of his own grandfather, who told him that he should go to America, for if he
stayed in Germany he would be living in wars all of the time. He settled in Oneida, N.Y., where
there was a substantial German population. He later married Veronica
Loosman and the two moved to
Auburn, NY , where he began work at the American Locomotive Co
. and thus was exempt from the military During
World War I my mother did
clerical work
in Washington, DC for military officers. Though she
was there during
the suffrage era, apparently she was not influenced
by it. I regret that I never
talked to her about those experiences, or her ideas on the suffrage
movement, but she was very supportive of my work for
women. My sisters and I attended our Catholic parish elementary and Holy Family High School, and later, the all-female Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y. Early in high school I was fascinated with science and went on to major in chemistry. It did not occur to me or the several chemistry majors in my class that there was anything strange about our taking chemistry, or that we would be inhibited in any way in such a career. I think that was one of the advantages of an all-girl college–we did not have to cope with competition from or harassment by male classmates. Part of this was the influence of WWII when demand for scientists was high and everyone was encouraged in those fields. In fact my chemistry courses were concentrated into the first three years of college because of the wartime need for scientists. The war ended prior to my graduation so there was no need to leave college.
My
first experience with activism was as a college junior in 1947 when the
National Student Association
was forming . It was at the start of the cold war and “leftist”
students (some actual Communist party members) hoped to influence and
control the organization. Catholic colleges were encouraged to participate so as to
counter that influence. The Dean, Sr. Teresa Marie, appointed me to
attend the initial meetings at the University of Notre Dame in preparation
for the founding of the NSA and subsequently its formation at
the U. of Wisconsin, Madison. We were encouraged at Notre Dame to become
active in the group and to begin recruitment of non-religious colleges in
our area as a counterbalance to the “Communist” influence. I was
elected Secretary of the New York State group, and began recruiting the U.
of Rochester This effort also provided a greater social life for me as I
met young men there. Efforts to balance the participation in the NSA
were successful and it went on to be a beneficial organization. My lesson:
you can successfully effect change. After
graduation I was employed by the Federal government at the Office of
Rubber Reserve in Washington, D.C. This office had been formed to
oversee the development of synthetic rubber during WWII when the Japanese
had captured the sources of natural rubber in Southeast Asia. Not
long after I met Martin Tierney, a former chemist at Rubber Reserve who had worked in the synthetic
rubber program during the war. He had studied chemistry in Germany and his
ability to speak German opened major opportunities for him at the end of
the war. We were married in 1949 and settled in Naugatuck, Connecticut,
where his work now took him. The years following our marriage were very traditional–I kept house, we adopted three children and opened our home to three foreign exchange students for one year each while they obtained a high school diploma in the U.S. We also provided a temporary home for several young children. In 1952 I joined American Association of University Women, which provided a stimulating environment for many college-educated women who were full time homemakers, as well as for professors and other teachers. During the 1950s my husband frequently traveled to Europe and AAUW was a great source of friends and intellectual activity during his absences.
WE
MOVE TO LOUISIANA In
1965 Marty’s work took us to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where AAUW provided
new friends and activities. Sylvia Roberts, the lawyer who won the case against Southern
Bell for NOW in 1966, informed us about the injustice of Louisiana’s
laws toward women. The legal provisions of the community property system
had been based on Napoleonic law and rendered women with few protections. I helped with
efforts to change those laws, joined the National Organization for
Women and was involved in consciousness-raising related to the status
of women in general. I had begun teaching science in an elementary
school . NOW was informing me
of the high level of poverty among elderly women, so I resolved to work in a position that would
provide a pension. My children were now grown and leaving
home. I returned to college at Louisiana State U. to bring my chemistry up
to date and also studied Environmental Engineering , as environmental
issues were gaining prominence and the need for legislation was becoming
obvious. Led by Sylvia, Pat Evans and Margaret
McIlhenny, Women in Politics
was formed in the early 70s. Its purpose was to bring to light the
discrimination toward women that existed especially in Louisiana. We
petitioned TV and radio stations to increase the number of women on their
staffs and worked to elect more women to the State Legislature. The group
eventually evolved into the Louisiana Women’s Political Caucus. I served
as Chair of Women in Politics for two years. In 1972, after more than 50 years of effort by women, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment -- “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.” Each state legislature now had to adopt this proposed amendment. To become a part of the Constitution, three quarters of the states - 38 - had to ratify the Amendment. In an afterthought Congress added that “there would be only seven years to accomplish ratification.”
This
became a part of my life and changed -- it to this day! I set about to form a coalition of
state organizations supporting ERA– all the major women’s organizations
plus union , religious and
justice groups. We reached a total of over 100 and called it ERA United,
which I directed from 1972 through 1975.We opened an office, provided by
one of our most ardent supporters, to coordinate lobbying efforts. We had
a separate person to identify answers to objections to ERA: Francine
Merritt, PhD, speech professor at Louisiana State U and a lobbying
coordinator, Mary Metz, PhD, professor of French at LSU. In 1973 I
became state Legislative Chair of AAUW. This provided access to whole
areas of the state where women were seeking ratification. We lobbied
every day the Legislature was in session. The League of Women Voters kept
a hotel room across from the capitol where we’d gather for strategy
sessions and rest between committee meetings. ERA did not get out of
committee the first year of lobbying. In
1972 I became a founding member of the Louisiana Women’s Political Caucus
along with Sybil Taylor, Roberta Madden and others who had been active in Women in
Politics. The Caucus provided an extra opportunity to push for electing
women. In 1974 I became a member of the Governor’s Task Force on
Women and Credit and was Chair of the group in 1975. 1974 Louisiana was selected by the national coalition
for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERAmerica) as one of the
states on which to concentrate that year. Many states had already ratified
and the national coalition was now working where strong activity already
existed. Several national organizations sent personnel to Louisiana
to conduct lobbying and organize workshops. The National Woman’s Party sent
their President, Elizabeth Chittick, who had successfully influenced
conservative legislators in Washington, to help us. Although much progress
was made, we did not achieve ratification in 1974. I
had been seeking work in the chemical industry for two years. In the
course of interviewing, one company informed me that they had all male
employees and would like to keep it that way. After notifying the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, I was given their approval to seek
legal redress. With the help of Sylvia Roberts the lawsuit was settled in
my favor. Subsequently that summer I was offered a position with Allied
Chemical in their technical group. As I finished my workday I would go to
the LWV hotel room to shower (my work was very dirty) and dress for the
lobbying effort in the late afternoon and evening at the Capitol. In the
late evening I was on the phone with ERA supporters using a separate phone
line in my home paid for by the LWV. This was a hectic schedule! There
were times when my husband and I would be shopping at midnight for the
week’s groceries. On Sunday we would cook for the entire week and bring my
clothing for the week to the hotel. *I
must pay tribute to my husband for his patience and support during this
and future times. There were women engaged in working for women’s rights
whose husbands were not in agreement with them, legally or socially, and
divorces resulted. This was very sad. My husband came to the Legislature ,
lobbied on several occasions
and wrote letters to the Editor.
Nat'l_ERA
March1978 Washington DC This
position placed me on the AAUW Association Board and kept me in touch with
the 21st Century committees throughout the nation. AAUW brought in
futurists to make presentations and we put together a program on
decision-making. using as our theme that women did not participate in
the decision making of the organizations governing our lives and we
must change that. This position also required me to travel to speak
at state and regional AAUW conventions urging members to plan for and
influence the 21st Century. At the end of the two-year study/action
program, the committee put together a summary of actions taken by AAUW
branches around the country. In
the 70s I joined and later became a Board member of the National
Woman’s Party, the group
founded by Alice Paul to seek
ratification of the Suffrage Amendment. As most feminists know, following
ratification, she composed the Equal Rights Amendment for passage by
Congress, but it took over 50 years to be submitted to the states for
ratification. I
attended many NWP events at the Sewall-Belmont House in Washington in the
80s and 90s. Elizabeth Chittick was President all that time. Many
prominent Washingtonians , including Cokie Roberts, Sarah McClendon, and
Helen Thomas, worked with the NWP. The first woman appointed to the
Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor, sometimes attended our
events. In
1974 and 1975 I was a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Women and
Credit, chairing the group in 1975. In 1974 I received the Alumna of
the Year award from Nazareth College, and in 1975 received the
Advancement of Women Award from the Baton Rouge chapter of
NOW.
National Women’s
Conference 1077 Houston. Louisiana delegation -
Karline, center, voting YES to
support The
Houston IWY conference in November was a highlight for in the women’s
movement. Activists in national and state politics and prominent feminists
participated in drawing up a National Plan of Action. Roslyn Carter, Betty Ford
,
Pat Shroeder and other female members
of Congress and writers and activists of all
persuasions were present. It was there I met Barbara Mikulski from
Maryland, who later became the first woman U.S. Senator elected in her own
right. We
continued working for ratification of ERA in Louisiana and other
non-ratified states. Supporters held an immense march in Washington
to ask Congress to extend the seven-year deadline, which it did, with
1982 for final ratification. But only 35
states had ratified by the deadline. In Louisiana we held a Jazz
funeral to note the demise of the original ERA and the start of “A New Day
Beyond ERA”. The Amendment awaits further action. Removal of the deadline
altogether was introduced as
a Resolution in the Senate in 2012 by Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland. We who are still working for ERA
support that resolution. From
1974 on I was working in the chemical industry. At Allied I had been
assigned to the Environmental group to maintain compliance with the newly
passed Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the purpose of which
was to minimize toxic by-products and waste and to clean up previous
dumping of hazardous materials. I began similar work in 1980 at
CIBA-Geigy in St. Gabriel, LA. In 1985 I was transferred to CIBA’s
headquarters in Ardsley, N.Y. to work on Superfund cleanup. Superfund
sites were those abandoned by unknown owners as well as others caused by
known companies. The companies were required to clean these sites working
with the Environmental Protection Agency. This transfer resulted in our
move to Ridgefield, CT. In
1983 I ran for the AAUW board position of Director of Women’s Issues and
won a two year term. This again gave me a voice with members and I was
able to advocate for the issues important to women in speeches
nationwide. In
1995 I joined a group from AAUW to attend the Women’s Conference near
Beijing, China. As a member I provided a presentation on waste
minimization. Interface with Chinese women was interesting as they began
dipping into the mysteries of a competitive economy. Newly graduated women
and men had the option of working for a state enterprise or of joining
independent corporations usually partly owned by Western companies. The
Beijing Women’s Conference was a wonderful opportunity for women from all
the world to meet and work together and to again put forward plans
for improving women’s lives. As we continue our efforts to ratify the
ERA, I speak on the subject whenever possible and support the efforts to
remove the deadline. Karline
now lives at the Charlestown Retirement
Community in Catonsville, Maryland. She was the first resident to be
elected to the governing Board of Directors.
Comments Jacqui Ceballos jcvfa#aol.com CONTACT KARLINE karline.tierney@gmail.com
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