Women celebrating women

A mother-daughter duo hosted their first book launching party as co-authors on Thursday night.

Brigida R. Blasi and Christine Alethea Williams’ book “Women in Sweetwater County” celebrates women who made an impact in the southwest region of Wyoming.

The authors are excited to have their book come out the same year as the 150th anniversary of the women’s suffrage movement in Wyoming.

The book launch and signing included guest speaker, historian Ann Chambers Noble, whose grandmother is featured in the book. Noble spoke highly of our state and its women.

“It’s undeniable that Wyoming has some amazing women,” Noble said. “Our lists of firsts is impressive and indisputable.”

She went on to explain the new book is an example of preserving Wyoming’s and the nation’s historical women, which is something we are in need of.

After Noble spoke, there was a meet and greet with the two authors. Their book highlights topics like gender, race, frontier life, politics and the military. Each woman the authors found added a deeper layer of being a women in the west.

“People will probably recognize a lot of women in the book as family members, neighbors, or friends without thinking of them as extraordinary,” Blasi said. “But that’s exactly why we decided to put this book together—to show how much women have influenced and contributed to our history, heritage and the development of our communities in noteworthy ways that have not always been recognized or acknowledged.”

Blasi and Williams both donated their time to this project.

All the proceeds from the book will be given to the Sweetwater County Museum Foundation, which is a nonprofit.