100 years of preserving Wyoming women's history -- meet the Cheyenne Pioneer Club
Apr. 10—CHEYENNE — Everyone knows Wyoming earned its nickname as The Equality State because it was the first state to grant women the right to vote in 1890.
What might not be as well known, however, is the existence of a historical society, known as the Cheyenne Pioneer Club, that has preserved the stories of capital city women dating all the way back to 1869, when the territorial legislature decided to let women vote and hold public office.
The club had its 100th birthday on April 2, and members will commemorate the milestone at a luncheon at the Cheyenne Country Club this Saturday.
The historical social club is primarily made up of female members, half of whom are descendants of the original 20 pioneer Cheyenne women who started the organization. The Cheyenne Pioneer Club has no online presence, including no website or social media pages. It functions solely off the connection of its 30 active members, along with at least 35 inactive members.
Once a month, Cheyenne Pioneer Club President Lynda Hardgrave calls or emails each member with the details of the next meeting, which takes place on the second Thursday of every month at 1:30 p.m. While the time is the same, the location always changes, hosted either at a member's house or in a public location, such as the library.
Club member Kym Zwonitzer told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle the purpose of the club is "to preserve Cheyenne's early-day heritage." Since the 1930s, members have been asked to write their own biographies, detailing their experience living in Laramie County; these stories can be found in the Wyoming State Archives.
Zwonitzer said there are about 350 written stories in total, many dating back to the early days of Cheyenne.
"It really kind of gives that sense of what Cheyenne was like," Zwonitzer said. "Wonderful stories of women who were in blizzards and what they did in hardship times."
Wyoming is a place where people pride themselves in their long lineage of state residency. Being a rural state, many of today's residents come from a long line of ranchers, farmers, and workers in the coal and oil industries.
Zwonitzer said her great-grandmother first moved to Wyoming in 1889, and joined the Cheyenne Pioneer Club in the late 1930s. Being a lifelong Wyomingite or a woman isn't a requirement to join the organization, she added.
"Not that we would mind male members, but right now it's all basically female," Zwonitzer said. "It's a retired group — kind older, historian-type women."
Members of the public are welcome to attend a meeting and listen as members discuss Cheyenne history, show off heirlooms and eat food made from recipes passed down through the family.
For details on how to attend the club's next meeting, contact either Zwonitzer at 307-631-4204 or Hardgrave at 307-634-2953.
Just to name a few
Many of the current Cheyenne Pioneer Club members are direct descendants of the original founders. Current member Sarah Hawes Wacker is the granddaughter of charter member Elizabeth Snow Hawes, who moved to Cheyenne from New Hampshire in 1869. Hawes was the first County Superintendent of Schools for Laramie County, Zwonitzer said.
Current members Jodi Giroux and Jeanette Underwood are related to Nancy Jane Underwood, who was the club's first president. Zwonitzer said the Underwoods were early-day merchants and ranchers in Laramie County. Every Christmas, they host the club's annual Christmas party and serve their family recipe of Christmas pudding with hard sauce.
Some members are direct descendants of notable historical figures. Club member Paula Qualls is the great-granddaughter of suffragist and orator Therese Jenkins, a woman who championed the movement for women's suffrage as Wyoming achieved statehood in 1890.
Both her daughters-in-law and granddaughters are members of the club. Hardgrave, the club president, is a direct descendant of Annie Parnell, who arrived in Cheyenne in 1890. Many of Parnell's family members worked for the Union Pacific Railroad.
The club's vice president, Teema McIntosh, and her sister, Cheryl Tuck-Smith, hail from the Farthing family, who have been in the club for three generations. Zwonitzer said the University of Wyoming's Cowboy Joe pony mascots descended from their great-grandfather's pony herd.
"Many other current members are descendants of early Cheyenne pioneer families, while other current members, who have lived in Cheyenne for 50 years, have joined the group due to their interest in preserving Cheyenne history," Zwonitzer later told the WTE through an email. "Monthly meetings include programs on early-day Cheyenne and anything of interest regarding the state of Wyoming."
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Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.
