Women's History

At Bonneville, record holders must first earn the right to present themselves on the starting line. This requires passing rigorous safety and technical checks for driver, rider, and speed machine. Gender is inconsequential. Through the years, more than 200 women have made the cut and donned fireproof clothing and helmets. Dozens have set land speed records--35 in excess of 200 miles per hour, six above 300 miles per hour, and one deaf female racer who roared past 500 miles per hour. Equally impressive are the women who helped propel the helmeted gals into glory. Few know how many women are skilled fabricators, mechanics, crew chiefs, and all-round land speed racing experts, all working out on a brutal, merciless, and barren sodium-soaked playa. And for decades dedicated volunteers have not only put down that all-important starting line but erected a speed village that inspired tens of thousands to visit, taunting the timing lights run after run. Since 1949, women have played an integral part. Without question, land speed racing has more women actively participating and setting records than any other segment of motorsports in the world.

Women Writing the West 2024 WILLA Award for Creative Nonfiction

Prudery, Polygamy and Politics

Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon was no hands-on-the-plow pioneer. She was no stereotypical polygamous wife. Nor was she a prim lady who blushed at the word “legs.” Victorian Mormons were proud to lead the way in empowering women. “Verily the world progresseth,” exclaimed the Deseret Evening News on March 17, 1869, celebrating a Congressional bill to give Utah women the vote. But the federal intention to have female suffrage in Utah destroy polygamy failed. The 1882 Edmunds Act made “cohabitation” a felony. To protect her polygamous husband, she fled to England with their infant daughter. Upon her return, she reestablished her medical practice and opened Utah’s first training school for nurses. Nominated by local Democrats, Mattie ran against her husband for state senate in 1896 – beating him by four thousand votes. Author Joan Jacobson chronicles an extraordinary life remarkably relevant for today.

Representing lawmakers and lawbreakers, artists and adventurers or scholars and activists, the women of Utah defied stereotypes.

At the crossroads of the West, they found new challenges and opportunities to forge their own paths. Emma Dean explored the Rocky Mountains with her famous spouse, John Wesley Powell. Martha Hughes Cannon defeated her husband to become the first female state senator. Maud Fitch drove an ambulance under German artillery fire to rescue downed pilots in World War I.

Author Emily Brooksby Wheeler celebrates the remarkable Utah women who, whether racing into danger or nurturing those who fell behind, changed their world and ours.