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3/4/2010 - 'Discovering Alabama' host, Dr. Doug Phillips, keynote speaker at AWHOF Thursday
Dr. Doug Phillips, producer and host of "Discovering Alabama," the University of Alabama's Emmy-nominated public television series about the natural wonders of this state, will be the keynote speaker at the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame Induction on March 4. The late Mary Burks of Birmingham and Margaret Charles Smith of Eutaw will be inducted. Burks was in the forefront of what became known as the Eastern Wilderness Movement. Her work to secure the Sipsey Wilderness in the Bankhead National Forest was her crowning achievement. Her leadership was crucial in passing the "U.S. Eastern Wilderness Areas Act" in 1975 that designated 12,700 acres along the west fork of the Sipsey River as Alabama's first national wilderness area. The work she began in the 1970s bore additional fruit in 1988 when the Sipsey wilderness area was enlarged to 25,000 acres and the Sipsey River's west fork was designated as Alabama's only national wild and scenic river. Margaret Charles Smith was a medical pioneer who practiced midwifery in rural settings for those who could not afford hospitalization. Smith completed the third grade in a one-room rural grammar school in Eutaw. In the late 1940s she obtained a permit from the Public Health Team and became one of Greene County's official midwives. Between 1943 and1981 Smith delivered more than 3, 500 babies. She never lost a mother and only lost a few infants. She was a traditional midwife who became a legend for delivering so many babies. The women she served were often overworked and malnourished. The Induction Ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Alumnae Auditorium on the campus of Judson College. Additional information is available on the AWHOF website at awhf.org.
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