She was 9 years old when women were legally allowed to vote; I wish that I had asked her more about how that impacted her life, although I know it did greatly. She would go on to graduate from Union College just over 10 years later, when less than 4% of women in the U.S. would earn a college diploma. I imagine those numbers were far lower in southeastern Kentucky where she grew up. Instead of going on to teach in a city, she rode a horse miles into the foothills of Appalachia and began teaching in a one room school house. Many of her classmates would go on to take higher paying and more prestigious jobs, but she knew from experience that the education was vital to overcoming poverty; she was truly “pro-life.” She believed that all children, regardless of sex, color, or financial background, not just those born into the right family or circumstances, deserved access to food, clean water, shelter, and an education. Over a career that spanned more than 40 years, she taught hundreds, possibly thousands, of children in a rural Appalachian community. Many of them would go on to overcome poverty themselves by becoming teachers, doctors, and even legislators. This teacher was Rose Garland Cole, and she was my great grandmother.
