91视频

History books are filled with tales of the men who built the country鈥檚 roads and bridges and buildings, but it鈥檚 only in recent years that the stories of their female counterparts have started to come to light.

While the stories of those women serve as sources of modern-day inspiration, it was a different case when they were alive. Their efforts, when reported in newspapers and magazines, were presented as rare 鈥� even odd 鈥� occurrences.

Reporters marveled, for example, over the fact that Emily Roebling took over her husband鈥檚 role as lead engineer on construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in the late 1800s when he became too ill to continue in that capacity.

They were astounded that Fay Kellogg was able to rise beyond merely designing 鈥減retty rural homes鈥� to become 鈥渁 real practical architect who has a predilection for large buildings.鈥�

And they crowed over how Alice Durkin, while 鈥渞etaining the femininity of one given to gentle birth,鈥� managed to emerge as one of the leading contractors in New York City in the early 1900s.

While Fay and Emily in recent years have started to receive the recognition they deserve for their professional achievements,聽there are far more women like Alice whose accomplishments have been largely forgotten. As far as I can tell, no one has ever written a book about Alice, even though she was recognized both as a 鈥淢aster Builder鈥� and the first woman ever invited to join the Building Trades Association of New York.聽 As a result, while there鈥檚 much I鈥檝e been able to uncover about Alice 鈥� she was a tough competitor when it came to submitting a bid and a straight-shooter when it came to convincing striking workers to return to a job site 鈥� there鈥檚 just as much I haven鈥檛 been able to learn.

I know, for example, that she went by the designation of 鈥淢iss鈥� in her business dealings, even after she married another builder named John F. Walsh and then became a mother. But I don鈥檛 know why she chose to keep her marital status a secret from reporters.

Maybe she felt it was easier to just continue in the role she held when she first entered the industry. Maybe she worried that people would incorrectly assume she was merely a figurehead for a company run by her husband. Maybe she took pride in single-handedly building a woman-owned construction company long before states and cities started handing out certifications.

Or maybe there was a reason I haven鈥檛 thought of. The sad 鈥� and frustrating 鈥� truth is that outside of some newspaper and magazine stories, there鈥檚 no way to know who Alice Durkin really was or how she really felt about truly being the only woman in an industry of men.

Even as I continue research to flesh out Alice鈥檚 life, I鈥檓 faced with a realization about the women currently working in the building industry 鈥� from tradeswomen on job sites to those in lead management roles on projects. Without taking some kind of proactive steps now, their stories are in danger of being lost in the shuffle of time, just as Alice鈥檚 has been.

That鈥檚 why, in early April, the Daily Journal of Commerce will publish the inaugural issue of a new magazine. Named after the awards program the 91视频 holds each fall, the new Women of Vision magazine will tell the stories of women who built 鈥� and are building 鈥� our city, our state and our region.

We鈥檒l explore the lives and accomplishments of women like Edith Yang, the first minority woman to be licensed as an architect in Oregon, and Eleanor Chown, whose natural bent for business helped turned a family company into a local industry icon. We鈥檒l talk about the issues that women in the building industry face 鈥� not just digging into those topics, but providing information women can take back to their firms to help them create greater diversity and equity throughout the industry. And we鈥檒l share the stories 鈥� professional and personal 鈥� of the women who are shaping and influencing the built environment on a daily basis.

In order to do that, though, we need your help. We鈥檙e looking for experiences of women 鈥� you, your employees, your friends and colleagues 鈥� working in and with the local building industry. Help us tell all of those stories now so that in the future, people will be able to point to roads and bridges and buildings in Portland, in Oregon, and beyond, and talk about the women who built them.

Help us fill the history books for future generations.

Stephanie Basalyga is the editor of the Daily Journal of Commerce and the soon-to-be-published Women of Vision magazine. Contact her at 503-802-7222 or [email protected].