Held just before countywide elections took place, Harmony Hall in Sloatsburg, NY, hosted an event that included two of Rockland County’s leading women politicians, who attended to talk shop and the history of women voting to the Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson Council. Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee were on hand Saturday, November 4, at the Jacob Sloat House to honor those Girl Scouts who earned their Centennial of Women’s Suffrage in New York Girl Scout Patch.

New York State Assemblymember Ellen Jaffee, District 97, recently addressed the Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson Council at Harmony Hall in Sloatsburg, NY. The event celebrated those Girl Scouts who earned their Centennial of Women’s Suffrage in New York Girl Scout Patch.

The special patch celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in New York  and was announced by Governor Cuomo in March of this year. The patch program is a partnership between the New York State Girl Scouts councils and the New York State Women’s Suffrage Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.

Sloatsburger Carrie Louisa Sloat Eastburn was a renowned advocate for women’s right to vote in New York. She was the grand daughter of Jacob Sloat, who built Harmony Hall.

“It was only natural to want to host the program at Harmony Hall,” said Andrea LaMantia, Friends of Harmony Hall Board of Trustees’ secretary and adult member of Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson who coordinated the program. The historic home was built in 1848 by Jacob Sloat, the same year as the first Women’s Right Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. It is also thought to be the birthplace of Sloat’s grandaughter Carrie Louisa Sloat Eastburn, born in 1880.

Carrie Sloat Eastburn was a renowned suffragist from a small Hudson Valley town who was determined to fight for the right to vote for women to vote.

The special Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage in New York patch program is a partnership between the New York State Girl Scouts councils and the New York State Women’s Suffrage Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.

Part of the Carrie Sloat legend has her traveling from Sloatsburg to New York City while nine months pregnant to march in a Suffrage parade.

“It was a way to honor her and the legacy of all the women who had the courage and tenacity to fight for their daughter’s daughters,” LaMantia said.

New York State Assemblywomen Ellen Jaffee, Rockland County legislator Harriet Cornell and The League of Women Voters – Rockland County President Linda Berns all addressed the Girl Scouts. Each speaking about past and present women’s issues and the importance of standing up for what you believe.

Rockland County District 10 Legislator Harriet Cornell was on hand to address Girl Scouts at Harmony Hall. Cornell was the first woman to chair the Rockland County Legislature, a position she held from January 2005 to December 2013.

The message of the day was to honor the suffragists by always exercising your right to vote. November 2017 marks the 100-year anniversary of New York women gaining the right to vote— three years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment which granted women nationwide the right to vote.

The Girl Scouts spent Saturday, November 4, morning learning about the 70-year struggle of those women who fought for the vote, the many obstacles they faced and the issues women of today still face.

So, take Tuesday’s vote seriously. Cast your ballot and let your voice be heard.

Andrea LaMantia contributed to this article.