A number of people offered verbal praise to the life lived by Louise Gasser Kirtley on Wednesday before unveiling a monument dedicated to her historical life and career.
Through the various stories, perspectives and statistics that were shared, the significance of Kirtley’s legacy as a trailblazer for equality — earned during a time when women were oppressed more often than not — became very clear.
Kirtley was a practicing attorney for decades, as well as Daviess County’s first female representative elected to the Kentucky General Assembly. In 1984, she was one of only three women who practiced law in Daviess County. She also served as the first president of the Daviess County Bar Association and as the County Attorney.
Kirtley also used her success to help other women succeed. As explained by Aloma Williams Dew, Kirtley served as a divorce attorney for many women across Daviess County for a number of years. Many of them couldn’t even afford to pay her, Dew said, but she represented them anyway.
“Those who did pay her, they paid in silver dollars,” Dew said. “She was compassionate. She identified with single women because she became a single mother herself.”
Kirtley was aware of the prejudices against women, Dew said, but she never complained about them. In fact, she flaunted her femininity and used it to her advantage.
“This woman of firsts was the epitome of a strong woman,” she said. “She should be our inspiration to continue the fight for full equality. She would not give up, and neither should we.”
The memorial dedicated to Kirtley was unveiled at the Daviess County Courthouse Wednesday, with the words “Equal Justice Under the Law” inscribed upon it. The significance of Kirtley’s memorial dedication coinciding with the 19th Amendment’s 100-year anniversary, wherein women became legally allowed to vote, was acknowledged several times during the event.
Judge-Executive Al Mattingly, who was born the youngest of 12 children, paid tribute to Kirtley’s strength as a female working in a male-driven workforce, saying he’d been raised by strong females his entire life.
“It’s taken too long to properly acknowledge the achievements of Louise Gasser Kirtley,” he said. “This is the first monument dedicated to a woman on our courthouse lawn. And for that, I apologize.”
Describing her as a “remarkable woman,” Mattingly said Kirtley paved the way to equality and asked that everyone remember the sacrifices made by those who had been, and who continue to be, oppressed by “continuing to level the playing field for all walks of life.”
Mayor Tom Watson said Kirtley’s path to equality had been earned, not given, and Kirtley’s daughter, Elisabeth Jacobs, shared a number of humorous, empowering stories about her mother’s life and career that stirred both laughter and moments of quiet reflection for those in the crowd.
“Now we have approximately 170 practicing attorneys in Daviess County, and approximately 30 of them are women,” said Jeanie Owen Miller, current president of the Daviess County Bar Association. “That’s progress for sure.”
