Celebrating the Women of YMCA of the Rockies

This year, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote at the national level. Not all women were included in the 19th Amendment – African American women and Native American women were both excluded from the polls. African American women faced discrimination and other tactics that made casting their vote a dangerous prospect, and Native Americans as a people were not considered U.S. citizens until 1924.

In Colorado, women gained the vote in 1893, and several other western states also permitted women to participate in the public and political life of their local communities and at the state level; however, it was not until 1920, after World War I, that the 19th Amendment was passed and ratified by all U.S. states. Women finally had a say in how their lives were governed.

At YMCA of the Rockies, our history is full of women making a difference to the lives of our guests and employees and in the local communities.

Join us as we explore just a few of our incredible women!

Ashley Hagen

In her teenage years, Iowan school student Ashley Hagen and her family vacationed at Snow Mountain Ranch. Back home in Ames, Iowa, Hagen won many awards and scholarships for her art, including attending the Governor’s Institute for the Gifted and Talented held at the Iowa State University. After high school, she studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Today, Ashley Hagen is a California-based contemporary artist working in a variety of media representing images and memories of childhood and the home. Read more about Ashley, her art, and her connection to the YMCA of the Rockies.
In a collaboration between the staff of the Museum and the Craft and Design Center, we invite you to learn the elements of art and principles of design for Ashley’s art.

Ruby McIntosh

The first time McIntosh , an artist, visited the YMCA of Estes Park was in 1914, and according to her grandson, Mark Schumann, she was one of the first groups of young people to travel to the site in a Stanley Steamer from Loveland. Read more about Ruby, her art, and her connection to the YMCA of the Rockies.
In a collaboration between the staff of the Museum and the Craft and Design Center, we invite you to learn the elements of art and principles of design for Ruby’s art.

Anna LaRoase

“Opa”, was created by Oklahoma-raised sculptor, Ann LaRose, in 2000 to honor the life of Dr.  Irvin “Irv” D. Smith. It is fitting that “Opa” faces the Mummy Range in Rocky Mountain National Park and Mount Ypsilon as Dr. Smith and his family enjoyed visiting YMCA of the Rockies and especially the Rocky Mountains where they could relax and draw inspiration from the nature that surrounded them. His wife Rosemary commissioned and donated the sculpture, which sits beside Hyde Chapel. Read more about Anna LaRose and “Opa” along with their connection to YMCA of the Rockies. In a collaboration between the staff of the Museum and the Craft and Design Center, we invite you to learn the elements of art and principles of design for Anna’s art.