A Brand-New Block of Voters
After women were granted the right to vote in 1920, The Kansas Republican party realized that with a brand-new block of voters, they needed to attract women to the Republican Party. In 1930, the Kansas Women’s Republican Club was organized by Mrs. Margaret Hill McCarter, prominent Kansas writer, as founder, assisted by John Hamilton, State GOP Chairman. Kansas was the fourth state to organize such as club for, “the promotion of better understanding of the principles of the Republican Party.”
We Begin to Organize
The Kansas group was organized despite the opposition of several of the leading men of the party who felt that an auxiliary organization would not survive. At the initial meeting on January 28, 1930, Miss Stella B. Haines was elected President. Quoting from an Article in the Augusta Gazette, Miss Haines stated, “In time I believe the club will be organized into county, district, and national affiliations”.
National Recognition
In 1938, The Kansas Women’s Republican Club became part of the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW). In 1962, under the presidency of Mrs. Lena Jones Merwin, and upon her recommendation and approval of the club, the name of the organization changed to “Kansas Federation of Republican Women”. Since then, the NFRW has become the largest grassroots political women’s organization in the United States.
Shown: original Kansas Women’s Republican Club materials. Courtesy of kshs.org
This black and white photograph shows the twenty-seventh Governor of Kansas Walter A. Huxman signing House Bill No. 309 giving women equal voice with men in political party organizations. The bill also provided for the election of Precinct Committee women instead of their appointment. Those in the photograph have been identified from left to right as follows: Mrs. Willard Greene, Mrs. Katheryn Graham, Stella B. Haines, Governor Huxman; Mrs. Ben L. Mickel, Mrs. W.C. Harris, and Ann Laughlin.
Our Past Presidents
1930-31
1931-33
1933-36
1936-37
1938-39
1939-1941
Miss Stella B. Haines- Augusta
Mrs. Ben Mickel – Soldier
Mrs. W.Y. Morgan
Mrs. Katherine Graha Lathrop
Mrs. Edwin F Ables – Lawrence
Miss Nannie Bingham – Sabetha
1941-43
1943-36
1943-45
1945-47
1947-49
1949-1951
Mrs. Ella Ruehmann Balderson – Wamego
Mrs. E.C. Harris – Topeka
Mrs. W.Y. Herrick
Mrs. Ferdinand Voiland, Jr
Mrs. Grant Watson -Burlingame
Mrs. A.J. Murray -Kansas City
1951-53
1953-55
1955-57
1957-59
1959-1961
Mrs. Joe R. Beeler – Jewell
Mrs. Paul Edgar – Topeka
Mrs. Frank D. Belinder – Shawnee
Mrs. Claude E Jurney – Kingman
Mrs. Harold Medill – Independence
1961-63
1963-65
1965-67
1967
1968-69
1969-1971
Lena Jones Merwin – Emporia
Lahoma Dennis – Topeka
Lula K. Baum – Leavenworth
Bula Lemert – Sedan
Lenora Duffy – Abilene
Joan Baker – Valley Falls
1971-73
1973-75
1976-77
1978-79
Helen Kulhmann – Leoti
June Trombola – El Dorado
Bernice Hyland – Washington
Margaret Ruff – Fairway
1980-81
1982-83
1984-85
1986-87
1988-89
Zelma Corson – Wichita
Joan Rorabaugh – Emporia
Shirley Rausch – Topeka
Frances Speer – Kansas City
Selma Steele – Salina
1990-91
1992-93
1994-95
1996-97
1998-99
Mary Compton – Fredonia
Jeanne Goodvin – Wichita
Darlene Westover – Junction City
Marteena Newcomb – Kansas City
Alberta Brinkman – Emporia
2000-01
2002-03
2004-05
2006-09
Barbara Wells – Elmdale
Zelma Sully – Kansas City
Bette Lessen – Arma
Brenda R. Smith – Salina