League of Women Voters

When Marge and Frank Mullen arrived in Soldotna, it involved a plane, a railroad and 65 miles on their feet.
As a young couple in Chicago in the 1940s, the idea of having as much as 160 acres of their own land was appealing to the Mullens, even if that land was somewhere they’d never heard of — the Kenai Peninsula.
“Frank Mullen and myself and his parents and my parents lived in Chicago apartments,” she said. “They never owned even one acre of land.”
Frank was discharged from the military after flying 93 missions in World War II. Retiring veterans got $2,000 and had an opportunity to take part in homesteading in Alaska. Newly married, Frank and Marge used the money to buy a single-engine Stinson 105 with which to fly to Alaska. They got to Merrill Field in Anchorage in August 1945 and used the plane to scout available homestead areas on the Kenai Peninsula. They chose a spot that later became the heart of Soldotna.
“On Soldotna Creek, where it flows into the Kenai River,” she said.

At a gathering held Saturday to reflect on the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, those of the grandparent generation vowed to continue sharing stories of change, so younger generations wouldn’t take for granted the rights their foremothers didn’t have.

“A little girl came in and greeted me as we were setting up for this, and I told her what we were doing because I think it is so important that we tell the younger generation about how women didn’t always have the right to vote, said Pedginski.”

Pedginski  was one of several women sharing family stories about mothers and grandmothers being able to vote for the first time at a Centennial Voices event held at the Soldotna Library. The event included presentations by members of the local League of Women Voters on the history of the women’s right to vote.

It was a long battle, says League member Sammy Crawford.