White fabric label with gold embroidered stitching and text reading "The Style, The Legacy: The Woman," displayed against a black satin fabric background.

Lucetta Jean Solloway

(1865 – 1928)

An antique silver-plated "Quarter-Final" award medal with an engraved shield and ribbon bar, displayed inside a dark presentation box lined with purple satin.

Awarded to Lucetta Jean Solloway for oratorical recitation at a Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) event.
1973.035.032a,b · ca. early 1900s · Donor: Anthony Taulbut

Lucetta Jean Solloway was a zealous and dedicated member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), and one of many women awarded medals for oratorical recitation.

Medals like these were used as an engagement tool to train members in public speaking while promoting social reform. A range of assigned topics could be selected, including alcohol, narcotics, suffrage, mercy, peace and arbitration, and cigarettes.

Solloway herself was an early proponent of women’s rights, and in 1915 she broke new ground by being elected to the School Board, becoming Mission’s first female representative.

After women gained the right to vote in 1917, Lucetta Jean Solloway was appointed commissioner to take affidavits, and she went on to become a sought-after guest speaker on women’s issues.