It was an oppressively hot summer day in the Russian port town of Konigsberg. The year was 1814 and the wealthy elite of Russia was about to celebrate the removal of Emperor Napoleon from the throne of France. What does every good party need? Champagne of course! 

Barbe-Nicole Cliquot, head of the Veuve Cliquot champagne business, decided to gamble. Despite the heavy blockades and precarious seas, Cliquot sent 10,500 bottles of champagne to Russia for their celebration. When the shipment finally hit land in Konigsberg, the true test came: would the sweet champagne be ruined by the voyage? No!  When the bottles popped open, Cliquot started a worldwide love of bubbles and Tsar Alexander claimed he would never drink any other spirit again.

Gutsy you say? You have no idea.  Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was a young woman of twenty when she married Philip Cliquot, heir to a family business involved in banking, trading and champagne production. Her leisurely bourgeoisie life was all planned out. But when Philip died of Typhoid fever in 1805 Barbe took over the company and became one of the worlds first recognized businesswomen. 

In honor of Black History Month, Gutsy Gals Inspire Me is proud to present the story of Ida B. Wells. Wells was a Civil Rights hero long before Rosa Parks or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While it is a travesty that her name isn’t universally known, we hope that each of you will pass on the tale of this true American icon.

Born to slaves in the mid 1862 in rural Mississippi, Ida B. Wells was the oldest of eight children. Her parents believed in the importance of education and sent Ida to Rust College at age 14 where she was subsequently expelled for arguing with the President of the school…it seems as though Ida was born gutsy.

Soon after, a plague of Yellow Fever killed her parents and Ida had to take a job as a teacher in a black school to support her siblings. While her job kept the family together, Ida wasn’t passionate about teaching and became increasingly outraged by how little she was paid in comparison to white teachers. By 1890, she’d had enough and moved to Memphis to attend Fisk University part time.

Around this time, Wells became embroiled in a law suit that would pave the way for African Americans long before Rosa Parks refused her seat on a bus. Ida was riding a train when she refused to leave her seat and move to an all black “Jim Crow” car. Her refusal set into motion a civil case that would eventually reach the Tennessee Supreme Court. Ida lost her case but her fire for racial equality only grew in the process.

What comes to mind when one thinks of Abraham Lincoln? Well if you imagined the sixteenth President with a beard, think again. Lincoln went clean-shaven for most of his life despite urgings from his peers. Fellow Republicans feared that Lincoln wouldn’t get votes due to his tall and lanky appearance. A beard, they assumed, would help solidify Lincoln’s image as a strong candidate. 

But one letter from a Gutsy Girl in 1860 seemed to change all that. Grace Bedell, age 11, was the daughter of a Republican stove maker but her brothers favored the Democratic Party and often poked fun at Lincoln and his appearance. Grace took matters into her own hands and personally wrote the then congressman a letter. 

In the letter Grace explained, “All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husband's to vote for you and then you would be President. My father is a going to vote for you and if I was a man I would vote for you too but I will try and get every one to vote for you that I can.” 

Soon after, Lincoln grew a beard, became the President we see in history books today, and worked to end slavery in this country. Was it all because of a bold little girl? We’ll let you be the judge…

Isabella Coleman’s story of ‘flower power’ is sure to inspire you. 

“Let’s have a parade!” Iconic and uniquely American, a parade celebrates all that this right with the world and the Tournament of Roses is no exception. Year after year we spend New Years Day hopeful about the future as we “ooh” and “aah” over the spectacles created out of seeds and flowers. But Isabella Coleman wasn’t so impressed. At least not in 1904. 

After riding on a float at the age of 12, Isabella knew she had been bitten by the “float bug.” But back in those days, the Tournament of Roses parade was a mere shadow of what it’s become. Floats were horse driven and decorated rudimentarily with flowers tied on with string. Knowing that she could do better, Isabella entered her own float into the parade at age 18 because, “Well, flowers grow in bunches, not strings.”

Isabella’s first float was a resounding success and she went on to hone her inner inventor. Though she lacked formal design or engineer training, Isabella is credited with bringing floats out of the dark ages. She pasted flowers and seeds on to create a more realistic look and brought about the use of motors to run floats, not horses. 

Perhaps most impressive was her ability to turn her craft into a business opportunity. Isabella pitched design ideas to large corporate sponsors and was hired by the City of Los Angeles (among others). Needless to say, the board members were shocked to find out a woman was behind such a sophisticated plan. Isabella proved her worth even more when her banker husband lost his job during the Great Depression. Her son later revealed that Isabella’s float design business literally kept the family ‘afloat.’ 

Isabella went on to win over 250 float contests over the years. Upon retirement in the 1960’s Pasadena decided to create an honorary award in her name. Each year the Isabella Coleman award is given to the float that most exemplifies “harmony in color.” We too salute Isabella for showing us how to turn the seemingly simple (flowers, seeds and an idea) into something sensational.

A remarkable woman, Ruth Harkness, embodied what it was to be Gutsy! In 1936, during a time when women were still just coming into their own and fighting for their rights, Ruth committed herself to pick up where her explorer husband left off—an unthinkable journey into the treacherous mountains of Shanghai China to capture a live Panda and bring it back to the United States. She was dauntless and flouted convention. "The human mind is capable of anything—absolutely anything", she believed. She sensed what was right even if it meant hardship. "When you yourself are right, nothing that could ever happen to you can be wrong!" Indeed, there was hardship. Her lack of experience and money, endless mockery from other explorers, and taking on the toughest terrain in the world didn't dissuade Ruth from what she set out to do. She ignored the politics, the villainous rivalry that raced against her, and the utter lack of convention that was the backdrop for one of the most sensational adventures in history. Miraculously, she returned with baby panda, Su Lin, becoming a hero to all.

What makes her extraordinary is that she showed us all that we need to believe in what we know to be true for ourselves. It's not about just pursuing your dream, but the ability to change your course if it isn't a fit. She brought two pandas back to the States, and while she was in China obtaining a third, she realized that taking the pandas out of their natural environment was wrong and so returned them all to China—not an easy task given the area was at war by this time.

May we all find our voice and our passions within and be willing to endure hardship in order to bring those to light!