Ford recalls women’s suffrage parade in ‘Our Missouri’ podcast

Dr. Elyssa Ford, an associate professor of history at Northwest Missouri State University, was featured recently in The State Historical Society of Missouri’s summer podcast series.

The “Our Missouri” podcast features stories of people, places, culture and history from throughout the state. The episode featuring Ford, focused on Alma Nash, a conductor of the Missouri Ladies Military Band and suffragist, as well as how Maryville’s Missouri Ladies Military Band played a key role in the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession.

The podcast is available on The State Historical Society of Missouri’s website.

“Nash and the band played such a central role in this national parade,” Ford said. “There were 5,000 women who marched that day, but the group from Maryville was at the front to help part the crowds and was featured in newspaper articles across the country. This is such an accomplishment for these women from a small town in Missouri, most of whom had never even left the state before.”

Ford joined the Northwest faculty in 2011 and also serves as director of the Honors Program and the director of public history and museum studies. Her academic interests include women’s history as well as race, sexuality, identity and memory.

Ford holds a master’s and doctorate degrees in history as well as a graduate certificate in museum studies from Arizona State University. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in international studies from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.