KSC hosted a 115th birthday celebration in honor of Doris “Granny D” Haddock and her dedication to political campaign finance reform.
The event took place on Jan. 24 in the Mason Library. Students and members of the public could RSVP and were able to listen to several speeches about Haddock’s life and legacy as well as enjoy some birthday cake afterwards.
According to the Open Democracy website, Haddock was a political activist from New Hampshire who focused on campaign finance reform. Her most famous act of protest occurred in 1999-2000, when she was almost 90 years old.
“At 89 she trekked across 3,200 miles, across the United States gathering support … for campaign finance reform that actually resulted in a Congressional act called the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002,” said Keene Mmayor Jay Kahn, who was one of the speakers at the event.
“Granny D, at age 79, needed to find a purpose in life,” continued Kahn. “That’s a quote from her. And she found that in social activism. Her legacy is documented well because of her remarkable acts.”
In 2000, Haddock was arrested in the Capitol building, where she was reading the Declaration of Independence out loud, for the offense of demonstrating. Haddock also ran for the position of U.S. Senator in 2004, which was unsuccessful. She was born in 1910 and diedpassed away in 2010 at the age of 100.
The event in the Mason Library was hosted by Open Democracy, which was co-founded by Haddock in 1997. Open Democracy is a New Hampshire-based organization that advocates for political equality, which includes advocating for removing wealthy interests from politics and protecting the freedom to vote for all.
“We do other work both at the state level and nationally to advocate that everybody has the freedom to vote,” said Olivia Zink, executive director for Open Democracy. “The thing that we love to do is engage citizens and make sure their voice is heard.”
“Our organization was founded by Granny D,” Zink continued. “So we get to keep her life and legacy alive.”
During the event, members of the community gave speeches about Haddock’s legacy and ideas. They also discussed the “Granny D collection” which is being organized in the Mason Library Aarchives and Special Collections.
“There’s this wonderful memory of her life here on campus for students to come visit,” said Zink. “They might’ve walked by her sneakers in the Mason Library but didn’t realize that they were worn by somebody who was 90 years old and walked across the country because they believed.”
Katie Temmallo, a KSC senior and archives assistant, has been working to organize this section of the archives. She was one of the event speakers and discussed the collection.
“There’s a lot, we keep getting things donated,” said Temmallo. “There’s a lot of really cool letters she has [from] people. There’s some from Biden, there’s some from Obama … there’s some from just a bunch of random celebrities.”
Many pieces of the collection were on display for attendees to view, including photos, signs and a bust of Haddock.
There were also many merchandise items for attendees to take for free, such as stickers, pens and small ivy plants.
Margaret Walsh, a Keene State professor emeritus and one of the event speakers, spoke on some of her contributions to Open Democracy.
“My contribution is speaking about the biography of Granny D … She was very much grounded in the rural communities of the Monadnock region,” said Walsh. “I knew her work through her speeches, through her events … and through the community members that she inspired.”
Walsh was the inaugural speaker at the 2012 Granny D lectures at the Keene Public Library, which was an effort to remember and celebrate Haddock’s accomplishments.
“I spent a lot of time in the archive looking at her speeches and her personal effects,” continued Walsh. “And from that I was able to help people understand more about her background and her life experiences that shaped who she became at an older age.”
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