Women didn't have the right to vote in the US until 1920. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers fought for that right in both the US and Canada. In the US, women like Lucy Burns and Doris Lewis were determined that women should have equal say in elections. This lead to the Night of Terror - November 15, 1917.
On that night long ago, 33 women were thrown into the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia on a trumped-up charge of obstructing sidewalk traffic. The warden looked the other way while four guards wielding clubs beat the women; some so badly that they almost died.
Alice Paul, pictured above, was one of the leaders who marched on the White House. She decided once she was arrested that she would go on a hunger strike in order to stand-up for what she believed in. The guards tied her to a chair, inserted a tube into her throat and poured liquid down it. They did this every day for weeks.
Dora Lewis was tossed into a dark cell. Her head hit an iron bed and knocked her unconscious. The woman sharing the cell with her was Alice Cosu. She thought Doris had been killed and had a heart attack.
The guards tied Lucy Burns to the bars of the cell with her hands above her head. She was left hanging there all night. She could barely breathe and was bleeding.President Woodrow Wilson and his cronies attempted to have Alice Paul declared insane and wanted her to be placed in an insane asylum. The psychiatrist would have no part of it. He told the men that brave, strong women were often looked upon as being insane.
US women won the right to vote in 1920 with the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Warren G. Harding was President.
In Canada, the suffrage movement was lead by women like Dr. Emily Stowe and Nellie McClung. Dr. Emily Stowe lead the movement in Ontario, while Nellie McClung lead it in the West. In 1917, women who were related to men actively fighting overseas during WWI were allowed to vote by the War Time Election Act. A hue and cry went up for equality.
Nellie McClung
Nellie McClung actively fought for the right for women to vote in 1916. Women who lived in Manitoba were granted the right to vote that year and Alberta and Saskatchewan also granted their women the right to vote. However, women in other provinces didn't get the same consideration.
In 1918, the ability to vote in a federal election was granted to all Canadian women over 21 years of age. Still, some provinces didn't allow women to vote in provincial elections. By 1922, all provinces allowed women to vote, except Quebec. It wasn't until 1940 that Canadian women across the nation were granted the right to vote in both federal and provincial elections.
If you are a women of voting age, please practice your right to vote. It doesn't matter who you vote for. Thank God we are free to vote for whom we choose. However, to honor these brave women who fought for the right for us to cast a ballot, be sure to do so. This year the US will elect a new President and there is a federal election in Canada on October 14th. Honor those women who lead and participated in the suffrage movement. It's your right!
The above photo was taken in northern Ontario in the 1990s. Hubby and I went up north for a weekend getaway. Behind the rocks in this area was a lake. I forget the name of it now, but if we went there early in the morning, we could see otters playing. It was an awesome sight. One of these years I would like to return to this area again.
I'm not sure where this one was taken, but from the other photos that were with it, I would assume northern Ontario. The colors are amazing. 
And finally, back home to the Grand River Valley. This is the Grand in all of her beauty. The colors were just beginning to change, but like all the rest of the photos, this was taken previously and is not this year's photo. 
Jo at 
The above picture was taken in the spring of the year. The water is high here and the current is swift and strong.
Elora Gorge is a pretty spot. I love going there. The river is so pretty as it narrows to flow through the gorge.
Paris, Ontario is also a quaint little town. It was established by Hiram Capron in 1829. Many of the buildings (shown here from the back) are still original from that era. This area often floods into the basements of small businesses in the spring.
A great fishing hole along the Grand. It could be one of hundreds. A beautiful spot to be sure. Great Blue Herons and Bald eagles can be seen at some spots along the Grand.
This is the Grand River near Dunnville, Ontario, where it empties into Lake Erie. The Grand is almost 200 miles long and there are many walking trails along its banks. Fishermen love the Grand, as there are a wide variety of fish species found here, including catfish, northern pike, perch, pickerel and others. It's seldom that you cast your line into the Grand without catching a fish. Rock, smallmouth and black bass are also found here. Almost 1,000,000 people live along its banks.
My dear friend, Ann, from Hootin' Anni's has a prayer request. Her friend PJ and her husband John were directly in the path of Hurricane Ike. Anni received an email from PJ and this is what she had to say:
