Time,” one for each day we thought that
the 2004 General Assembly would be in session. The
vignettes document memorable actions taken by past state
legislatures, and each moment was read on the appropriate day
by Clerk of the House Bruce Jamerson. The topics document
significant events and people, reveal the diversity of our
state, and provide a historical context for current discussion
...
“The dates of these minutes is
available as an online exhibit (On This Day: Legislative
Moments in Virginia History) at the Virginia Historical
Society’s website www.vahistorical.org/onthisday.htm
.”
While no one could have predicted
the overdue outcome of the 2004 legislative session, who is to
say that without the “Legislative Minutes” the
behavior might have actually been more obstreperous!
Blasts from past included some
women’s history:
• On February 6, 1808 the
legislature approved a Revolutionary War pension for the only
female veteran of that war, Anna Maria Lane. A historical
highway marker next to the Capitol Square Bell Tower outlines
her story. She fought as a common soldier in the war,
and, in the words of the legislators, “in the garb and
with the courage of a soldier [she] performed extraordinary
military services and received a severe wound at the Battle of
Germantown.” She may have disguised herself to be
able to stay with her soldier husband John Lane. She
worked as a nurse for what is today known as the Capitol
Police.
• The story of the two first
women in the legislature certainly deserved notice. In
January 1924, the first two women were sworn in as members of
the General Assembly. They were Sarah Lee Fain of
Norfolk, and
Helen Timmons Henderson of Buchanan and
Russell Counties. Despite the fact that Virginia and most
other southern states did not ratify the Nineteenth Amendment
to the Constitution, women here got the vote in 1920 and began
getting politically active. Since those two ladies, 61
others have followed in their footsteps in the General Assembly
since 1924.
• House Bill 12 on January 29,
1958 proclaimed June 2 each year as First Lady’s Day in
Virginia. It was declared to honor our nation’s first
First Lady, Virginian Martha Dandridge Custis Washington
(1731-1802) whose birthday was June 2. Other Virginia
First Ladies include Letitia Christian Tyler (1790-1842), and
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson (1872-1961).
On a related note, the Virginia
Historical Society was honored with House Joint Resolution
Number 259 that designated it the official state historical
society in Virginia. It was agreed to by the House of
Delegates on February 6, 2004, and likewise by the Senate on
March 9, 2004. So despite other evidence to the contrary,
every issue wasn’t a political tug of war this past
session!
POLITICAL REUNION
In July, UVa Professor Larry Sabato
and Center for Politics founder brought his annual government
conference to the Holy City to study the General Assembly.
The timing was perfect as the Assembly had just been
called into emergency session the week before to rectify an
error they passed into law regarding the so called “day
of rest” laws for employers.
