Gertrude Dills McKee: A Biographical Analysis
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Joan Wright Ferguson (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Gordon B. McKinney
Abstract: This thesis describes the life and accomplishments of Gertrude Dills McKee, one of the most influential leaders of western North Carolina. Her lifetime between 1885 and 1948 spanned a period of social, political, and economic changes for women. She was one of the pioneer women in North Carolina in politics and social legislation. She was the first woman elected to the North Carolina Senate. Mrs. McKee was active in women's clubs, serving terms as president of the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, the Southeastern Council of Federated Women's Clubs, and the North Carolina Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Mrs. McKee was appointed to the North Carolina Educational Commission, the Commission for the Consolidation of the University of North Carolina, the Board of Inquiry for the investigation of Morganton Hospital, and the State Board of Education. She served terms as a trustee of Peace College, Brevard College, the University of North Carolina, and Western Carolina Teachers' College (now Western Carolina University). The Gertrude Dills McKee Building at Western Carolina University is named for her. She received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. Mrs. McKee was married to Ernest Lyndon McKee. Together they developed the resort of High Hampton Inn. When Mrs. McKee died in 1948, she was eulogized as an able public servant and a great lady, a woman who early had dedicated her unusual gifts of intellect, personality, and leadership to service for the people of her state.
Gertrude Dills McKee: A Biographical Analysis
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Created on 5/1/1988
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 1988