History of AWSS
By Barb Leuelling, AWSS Founder
AWSS Newsletter, December 1991
[Note: This was a talk by Barb Leuelling at the first
meeting of the Association of Women Soil Scientists
on October 29, 1991.]
Meeting here in Denver is especially exciting--to
actually meet as a group after so many years of news
exchange through the newsletter. Much of the energy
to meet came about by the insight and perseverance
of Carol Wettstein. She urged us to meet at a national
event several years ago. Carol really deserves a lot
of credit for her commitment.
How did the organization initiate? It came about by
reverie and isolation in "those" days and
as a response to my job in a very remote location
on the Superior National Forest. I was the first "professional"
woman on the Isabella Ranger District. I knew I could
continue being isolated, I could give up in frustration,
or I could take matters into my own hands and do something.
I had had some experience in other organizations to
know that sometimes the difference in getting things
done or not getting things done was just to do it.
My need for networking couldn't lie idle then and
it became a high priority not only as a soil scientist
but within the Forest Service in general. As women
soil scientists' names came across my desk, I kept
a list of the names and addresses, intending to write
them. When Linda Donoghue's very early issues (a collection
of letters stapled together) of what is now known
as Women in Natural Resources (published out of the
University of Idaho) appeared in my office, I knew
what my letter to those eleven or so women would be
like: it included the four basic goals of the AWSS
and a brief note so they wouldn't think I was from
another galaxy, at least, "not right off the
bat." This went out in April. 1981. I was surprised
by the overwhelming support and enthusiasm in their
early and quick replies.
Today we sit here in this room and the delight of
it is that we are not all technicians but folks that
have a developed history and some levels of responsibility.
Some are embarking on their careers, but we are not
dominantly in entry level positions as many of us
were in 1981.·This is very satisfying to me.
We are a group of women who are not the same; we cannot
speak in a singular voice because we are different
and have our own uniqueness, but we share some similarities.
It is the uniqueness and similarities that I hope
can continue friendships and careers so that our paths
may cross many times in our careers of stewardship.
I believe AWSS, can help to share friendships that
will last a lifetime, and it can be rewarding in many
ways. Thank you for your energy and letting me get
to know you so that we can know each other. I urge
you to network and correspond to each other--that
support will carry us a long way!
For more on the history of AWSS,
see:
AWSS
Genesis: Barb Leuelling shares her story of founding
AWSS, her perspective on the present, and her hope for
the future.
AWSS History Timeline
: Margie Faber, AWSS Historian, gives a concise
chronology of AWSS from 1981-2000.
