Deborah Goodacre

There is a comedian named Stephen Wright. If you aren’t familiar with him, try Googling his performances. He speaks slowly, in a monotone voice, and comes up with the oddest, funniest routines. The one I can recall has to do with the cost of postage. He says something like this: “Where else can you walk into a store, hand someone an envelope, and say, ‘Here, take this to Alaska for me,’ for 43 cents.” Not only is it funny, but a point well taken brings me to this month’s subject: the Pony Express, more specifically, the Hashknife Pony Express.

In Arizona more than two dozen riders in authentic Western attire carry the mail, relaying the bags along the route from Holbrook to Scottsdale, a 200-mile reenactment. The year 2023 will be their 65th ride. The Navajo County Hashknife Sheriff’s Posse leads the ride. The delivery of the mail was reduced to 10 days. In operation for only 18 months, the process lost money and was forced to close after the opening of the transcontinental telegraph. Look up the Pony Express online for more exciting details.

As our nation grew, folks left the cities on the eastern seaboard in search of opportunities for a different life. I can’t believe that women didn’t know what they may have to endure: floods, scorching sun, blinding snows, and giving birth on the journey. And if they did know, then why did they go? I’m sure that, at some point, wife Martha said to her husband Homer, “This is the place. I’m not walking one more step.” I would have collapsed in a heap early into the trek and told my ol’ Homer what Martha said to hers.

I think back on people’s escape from other countries to come to America, traveling to a world unknown and undeveloped, crossing the treacherous Atlantic Ocean to establish a new government. Can you imagine the finger-clawing efforts it took to make it happen? To them, I am thankful.

Men ran the world, no matter what country. Then there were women like Abigail Adams, enormously admired and appreciated by her husband John. Women like Abigail were at the foundation of what would take another hundred years and more to establish women as worthwhile beings; intelligent, capable, and with outstanding personal strength. We celebrate the women who were there alongside men at the start of our country. We honor those who decided changes were needed and worked to make them happen. We celebrate the women who kept the flame alive for decades to ensure we gained appreciation and recognition.

The Daughters of the American Revolution honor and celebrate women such as those who kept up the struggle, refusing to take “no” for an answer. We still struggle at times, no doubt, but with more options at hand. Don’t delay—locate the strong, resilient women in your family background. You may find yourself proud of what you discover. For information about the DAR, contact Lesley Baran at [email protected].