Mother and daughter co-authors present on writing “More than Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women” book

Lecture: Afternoon Sabbatical – “More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women” by Anita Stalter and Rachel Lapp
Date and time: Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.
Location: Sauder Concert Hall, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: free and open to the public
For more information: call College Relations (574) 535-7565 or e-mail edutravel@goshen.edu

Anita Stalter (pictured right) and her daughter Rachel Lapp (pictured left) will speak in the Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall about their book on November 13, 2007.

GOSHEN, Ind. – An old Chinese proverb says that women hold up half the sky, but throughout history the voices of women were often carried away on the wind rather than captured for posterity. For Indiana citizens and others interested in the Hoosier state, however, there is a newly consolidated source of information about the lives of 10 Hoosier women in history. The mother-daughter team that researched and wrote the book “More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women” will discuss their work, in a presentation of the same title, as part of Goshen College’s Afternoon Sabbatical series on Tuesday, Nov. 13. The free event begins at 1 p.m. and community members are warmly invited to attend.



Anita Stalter, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean, and her daughter Rachel Lapp, assistant professor of communication, will speak in the Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall about their book. The project began four years ago, in 2003, and resulted in the publication of “More Then Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women” by the Globe Pequot Press in 2006. Stalter and Lapp have talked to audiences and media across the state about their process of research and writing the profiles of 10 influential Indiana women contained in the volume, which is intended for a wide readership. 



One topic that is sure to come up during their Afternoon Sabbatical presentation is their ability to work as a team. “My mom and I are close, and understand each other very well; we make each other laugh more often than we clash,” Lapp said.



“That we are a mother and daughter writing about women, whose lives in centuries past were shaped so much by their familial relationships, brings another dimension – and we see it as a strength – to the creation process,” Stalter said. “We plan to begin a new project soon.”

In their Afternoon Sabbatical presentation, Stalter and Lapp will discuss what drew them to the project, the process of putting the book together and their individual contributions to that, and they hope to recognize the ways women have and continue to contribute to society.

Stalter also plans to help attendees consider how the women described in the book accomplished things that continue to directly influence the lives of Indiana women. “When you see the patterns that shape women’s lives today and consider how the lives we live now are indebted to what our foremothers accomplished, it is nearly impossible to remain uninspired,” she said. 

Lapp said she and her mom enjoy highlighting the lives of these remarkable women as well as others they couldn’t include in the book. She said, “It is also important to consider how, and by what, their lives were shaped. This is an interesting exercise for women today, as well, and I hope that is one outcome of our Afternoon Sabbatical.”

Area school teachers have incorporated “More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Indiana Women” into history lessons, and Goshen College’s teacher education program is using the book as a means of demonstrating how teachers might incorporate history education into curricula, Stalter said. The mother-daughter team is also slated to speak to the Indiana Historical Society and Tri-State University in the coming months.

Stalter, who began serving as vice president for academic affairs and academic dean in 2000, joined Goshen College in 1987 as a teaching faculty member in the education department, and served as chair of that department for a number of years. She received her doctorate in education from Michigan State University (East Lansing, Mich.). Formerly Goshen College’s director of public relations, from 2000 to 2006, Lapp spent the past year attending DePaul University (Chicago) and is completing the school’s master of multicultural communication program this fall.

Future lectures in the Afternoon Sabbatical series:



·    Dec. 4, 1 p.m., Sauder Concert Hall, “Tis the Season to be Jazzy” with Lavender Jazz and the Goshen College Flute Choir.



·    Feb. 12, 1 p.m., Sauder Concert Hall, “Boundaries and Bridges: Do Denominations Have a Future?” with John D. Roth, professor of history.



·    March 1, Chicago bus trip to “Jersey Boys.” Cost: $135.

·    March 11, 1 p.m., “Men Making Music” with Goshen College Men’s Chorus and Ensembles.



·    April 15, noon, College Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall, “International Luncheon: Cambodia” with Keith Graber Miller, professor of Bible, religion and philosophy and his wife Ann with whom he led the first SST unit to Cambodia. Cost: $20

·    May 20 – Spring bus trip to South Bend, Ind.



The Goshen College Afternoon Sabbatical is celebrating its 30th anniversary season of offering programs for the community. A committee of area representatives and college personnel consider the knowledge and talent at Goshen College and among Elkhart County citizens and aim to select programs that will appeal to a wide variety of interests. The program began and continues from the idea that people can use a sabbatical from their daily lives to refresh their minds and spirits. 

For more information on the Afternoon Sabbatical series call the Goshen College Relations Office at (574) 535-7565 or e-mail edutravel@goshen.edu.

– By Kelli Yoder

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.