Elizabeth Haymaker Gigger

Bicentennial Honoree

Prominent in local politics and civic affairs long before it was fashionable for women to participate, Elizabeth Olin Haymaker graduated from Ravenna High School in 1904 with honors. After graduation from Western Reserve University, she taught in Kent and Alliance High Schools. Instrumental in starting the Portage County Chapter of the American Red Cross, she served as its executive secretary from its founding in 1917 until 1927 and was chairman of Home Service when she died. She was elected County Treasurer and served two terms and later became the Superintendent of the Portage County Hospital. A talented musician, she composed nearly forty compositions and served as a guest artist with the New York Philharmonic. Always active in local clubs, she served as president of the Ravenna Women’s Club, Junior Tuesday Club, the D.A.R., Ravenna Garden Club and Ravenna Business and Professional Women. For three terms she served as president of the Ohio State Federation of Women’s Clubs and was Chairman of the County Child Welfare Board. Committed to providing adequate space for meetings, she left the family home on Chestnut Street to the Junior Tuesday Club to be used by the community as a club meeting place.

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