Book celebrates 28 of San Diego’s remarkable women

Remarkable Women of San Diego: Pioneers, Visionaries and Innovators by Hannah S. Cohen and Gloria G. Harris; History Press © 2016; ISBN 9781467-118262; 144 pages including index and bibliography, $21.90.

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO –Divided into four time periods that begin in 1850, 1900, 1950 and 2000, this collection of biographical sketches honors not only 28 women for their achievements, but also brings into focus the diverse religious and ethnic communities that succored the honorees as they rose to prominence.  Overall, this book not only is a salute to some of the remarkable women who have made history in San Diego; it also provides us with a colorful, impressionistic portrait of San Diego itself.

The co-authors are deeply involved with the Women’s Museum of California, Cohen as its president and Harris as a former board member.  One of the standing exhibits at the Women’s Museum—which is located at Liberty Station in San Diego—is a San Diego Women’s Hall of Fame.  Most, if not all, of the biographies here presented are drawn from the ranks of the honorees.

Some honorees were credited with achievements that were San Diego “firsts.”   For example,  Mary Chase Walker was San Diego’s first teacher; Charlotte Baker its first female physician;  Marge Bradley  the first female judge; Anna Sandoval, the first female Sycuan Tribal Leader; Bertha Pendleton, the first African-American school superintendent; Shelley Zimmerman, the first female police chief, and Toni Atkins, the first lesbian Speaker of the California Assembly.

Other honorees set records of various kinds, among them aviatrix Ruth Alexander and swimmer Florence Chadwick.

Still others became known for their extraordinary influence in their chosen fields.  Helen Hunt Jackson was a novelist and advocate for the rights of California Indians; Lydia Knapp Horton helped build San Diego’s library system; Kate Sessions was the horticulturalist who planted much of Balboa Park; Ellen Browning Scripps and Joan Kroc were philanthropists; Belle Benchley, a zoo keeper; Luisa Moreno, a Mexican American Civil Rights Leader; and Mary Anne Fox, a chemist and UCSD chancellor.

Of the 28 women whose stories are told in this volume, four are members of the Jewish community, all of them still living.  Deborah Szekely, a wellness advocate, was the co-founder with her husband Edmond of Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, and the Golden Door Spa in Escondido.  Lynn Schenk is an attorney who broke through glass ceilings in the legal profession and served in Congress as well as in the Sacramento Capitol where she was chief-of-staff to Gov. Gray Davis.  Rabbi Lenore Bohm was the first woman to serve as a pulpit rabbi in San Diego, initially at Congregation Beth Israel and later as the senior rabbi at Temple Solel.  Shelley Zimmerman is San Diego’s current police chief.

The biographies, largely based on secondary sources such as newspaper and website articles (including San Diego Jewish World), are crisply written, if at times formulaic.  Their chief value is to expose readers to the lives of these 28 high-achieving women, and to perhaps inspire others to seek satisfaction in any field they may choose, no matter what obstacles are put in their way.  Each of the essays would be a good starting point for any history student looking for a suitable term paper or thesis subject.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com