The Traveling Women's History Museum

Happy 7th birthday to us!!!
7 years ago today The Traveling Women’s History Museum presented itself to the world for the first time at the Paoli Battlefield in Malvern, PA!! TTWHM was started as a Girl Scout Gold Award project and has continued since ensuring that women’s history remains free and accessible for everyone!! Check out some pictures down below from the last 7 years!! Do you have any favorite pictures or memories with us? Put them in the comments below!!

One of our curator’s dearest Wild and Crazy Grandmom (self styled) died at the beginning of April, just shy of her 85th birthday.
Mildred Mary (Taylor) Macfarlan 4/23/1939-4/7/2024
Millie was almost born at the card table- her mom’s water broke but she was winning at Rummy and the imminent birth of a child didn’t seem like reason enough to jeopardize that.
Millie grew up in Philadelphia, using the rigs that parked at the factory across the street as her own personal jungle gyms. The drivers even knew to look for her before they started up and drove off! She would be thanked for helping her Polish neighbors clean their home with a fresh roasted pigeon from their roof roost (making her younger brother quite jealous).
My very favorite story about her comes from her middle school years (just before they moved to the suburbs, where she became a member of William Tennant High School’s first graduating class- helping to select both the school’s colors and mascot!)- a Methodist herself, Millie lived in a highly Catholic area. Before going to dances on Friday nights, her friends had to stop at church to attend confession. While waiting and BORED, Millie found the prayer candles (that you are definitely supposed to pay for lighting), a vast sea of mostly unlit candles in a lovely gothic church. And HOW BEAUTIFUL WOULD IT BE IF THEY WERE ALL LIT UP?
Her friends made her wait outside after that…
Millie married Al, a future machinist and unicyclist whom she met at the roller skating rink. She gave birth to, not one Very Large Baby (as per the Dr), but Twins (as per the Nurse), and my mother. She was a homemaker, enjoyed camping with her family, boating and water skiiing (even when pregnant), and cruises! She will be remembered by her 10 grandkids for being the grownup who was always interested in what they were doing, and having homemade blueberry pies!
Not every woman will be remembered in the history books. But every woman was special to someone. If YOU would like us to feature a lost and loved lady, please DM us!

To close out our showcase of the Barbie collection, Barbie’s Friends and Fashion!!

These small catalog booklets from 1969-1970 feature other members of Barbie’s friends and family including Julia, Brad, Skipper, PJ, Stacey, Francine, Skooter, and Tutti!!

Tutti is very interesting as not many know about her!! Tutti and her twin brother Todd were the youngest siblings of Barbie and Skipper! They debuted in 1965 and would be discontinued in 1971. It seems they would be later replaced with Kelly in the 90s and later by Chelsea in 2011.

Christine and Julia are also featured alongside Brad in these mini catalogs!! Christine was introduced in the late 1960s at the end of the Civil Rights movement.
Julia was introduced in 1969 based off of the main character Julia from the show, “Julia.” Julia would be discontinued in 1971.

Also featured are clothing that came with the Barbie/Ken/Allan trio from the original owner. Some of these outfits are Mattel originals but others appear to be handmade or from another company.

Did you grow up with Barbie? Who was your favorite Barbie character? Drop a comment below with your favorite Barbie!!

He’s just Ken!

Except he’s a little extra special this time around!! Introducing Talking Ken!! Our Talking Ken is from approximately 1970!! Ken is in the original clothes that his original owner last left him in. Talking Ken features a pull string at the base of his neck. While ours doesn’t work anymore, he used to be able to say phrases such as “Hi! I’m Ken!” “Let’s go visit Barbie!” “What are you doing next weekend?” and “Let’s go to the big game tonight!”

Talking Ken is featured in one of our mini booklets alongside Talking Barbie, Talking PJ, and Talking Stacey.

“There are no multiples of Allan, he’s just Allan.” -Barbie movie, 2023

Whether you know him as “Ken’s Buddy” or “Just Allan,” we can all agree that Allan is a pretty lovable character; which is why we HAD to feature him next!!

Allan is still dressed in his striped shirt with a white collar and blue swim shorts, ready for a day at the beach. Allan has a pretty iconic look with his brown eyes and slicked red hair. Allan was introduced to the Barbie universe in 1964 but would be discontinued due to just not being very popular. He would make a return in the early 2000s as Midge’s husband. Allan is celebrating his 60th anniversary this year.

If you guessed that Barbie is coming to our page, you guessed right!! Did you know that TTWHM has a small Barbie collection?

With the recent Barbie hype since the release of the 2023 movie we wanted to show off our collection!!

Our collection was donated about 5 years ago by a local woman named Robin. All of the dolls and clothing in the collection belonged to her and have remained the same since she last put them away after playing with them as a child.

The first doll we are featuring is Barbie herself!! This Barbie has red hair, which according to Robin, had to be specially ordered by her mother because Barbies with red hair weren’t normally sold in stores. She came in this lovely blue carrying case, trademarked 1961. This Barbie is in her white turtleneck, red leather jacket, and striped pencil skirt. Her nails are painted a bright red which matches the jacket.

We’ve got a mini series coming up this week featuring one of our exhibits!! Can you guess which display is coming to our page?? 🩷🩷

Happy Women’s History Month!!
This year the theme for WHM is “Women who advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

Do you know a woman you’d like featured that fits this year’s theme? Drop a comment below and she may be featured on our page next!!

Booking is now open for the first part of the 2024 season!! Contact us now to book!!

*Dates and times are subject to availability due to volunteer schedules*

We would like to congratulate our director of education on her marriage!! Julz is responsible for creating our education programs ensuring that all of our visitors have an engaging experience!! Julz, we wish you all the best in your marriage and cannot wait to see what life holds for you!! ❤️❤️

TTWHM team had a great time at WWII American Experience yesterday for their Women’s History Month event!! TTWHM displayed Girl Scout uniforms from WWII!! So glad we get to close out this awesome month with a great display!!

Happy international Women’s Day!! Here’s to all the women breaking glass ceilings, standing up and speaking out, and inspiring future generations!!

PC: Girl Scouts

This pastel portrait of Hannah Penn, drawn by Frances Place, is believed to be the only surviving image of Penn drawn from life. William Penn’s second wife, Hannah Penn was the first and only female governor of Pennsylvania.

Brought up in a Quaker family, Hannah was educated and trained in business at a young age. She and William Penn married in 1696, when she was 24 and he 52.

Hannah did not settle for the role of housewife, instead forging relationships with local elites, impressing them with her “common sense, dignity, and attention to detail.” By 1701, the Penn family returned to England due to financial troubles, as William’s poor business decisions left them in debt. William suffered a debilitating series of strokes in 1712, leaving Hannah to manage his affairs; he died four years later.

As acting proprietor of Pennsylvania, Hannah paid off her husband’s debt and administered the colony. During her leadership she successfully navigated several major challenges including land disputes by the Duke of Baltimore and a challenge to her right to own and govern from her stepson, William Penn Jr. In a surprising outcome, the British Board of trade sided with Hannah, making her one of the first women in Britain to have formal legal authority. She led the colony from 1718 until her death in 1726.

Hannah was officially recognized as a governor of Pennsylvania in 2015. Her portrait hangs in the governor’s office in Harrisburg.

TTWHM is looking for a historic site, historic society, or other group in the Philadelphia region to host us for an open house of our full museum this fall!! If you think your site might be interested please PM us!!

Want to book a visit with TTWHM? Check out our new appointment booking tool on our page!! You can now book an appointment with us for online or in person!! Not sure what will work best for you? Message us for more details and we can help set you up!!

Come see us at The American Helicopter Museum & Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania for Family Day today!! We will be doing our presentation on women during WWII at 1:30 inside the theater!!

We’ve ahead a busy last few days but we wanted to thank Lindsey Mullholand from Lindsey Loves History for having us talk to her Girl Scout troop on Friday!! Thank you girls!!

We are still looking for people!! If you know a woman who was in the:
•WAAC/WACs
•WAVES
•WASPS
•SPARS
•Army Nurse Corps
•Navy Nurse Corps
•USMC Women’s Reserve

Please message us!!

TTWHM is searching for female WWII veterans located in Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Southern New Jersey, who would be interested in doing interviews as a way to preserve the stories of female veterans. If you or a woman you know served in the US military during WWII, please contact us!!

Special thanks to the Aston Seniors Group for having us for your luncheon today!! We had a lovely time presenting to you and hope to see you again in the future!!