Friends who know my love for trailblazers recently sent me the stories of two women in history I’m excited to share with you today.
For many years I have been called a trailblazer. In fact, it was part of the inspiration behind the name of my new leadership program, Texas Trailblazers at The University of Texas. I’ve long been fascinated by trailblazers who, by definition, “make a track through wild country.”
I’ve also had a lasting admiration for historic cowgirls, which inspired the title of my book “Cowgirl Power: How to Kick Ass in Business and Life.” Like the cowgirls in my book, these women deserve to be remembered and honored as well.
The first is Mary Fields, known as “Stagecoach Mary.” She was the first African American woman to carry mail on a Star Route for the U.S. Post Office, delivering for eight years straight without missing a day, while facing harsh weather, bandits and even wolves. She was one of many Black cowgirls who were integral to the development of ranching culture. These women played a vital yet often overlooked role in shaping the American West. They took on the same demanding physical labor as their male counterparts, including branding cattle, roping and participating in rodeos. Mary worked as a stagecoach driver—a capable and fearless woman forging trails through the West. Her legacy, and that of other Black cowgirls, continues to inspire and deserves recognition for its contributions to both African American and Western history.
Another is trailblazing doctor Grace Danforth. The Daily Times Herald once tried to compliment her by saying she was “a woman with a man’s mind,” but the pioneering physician clearly had a mind of her own. Born in Wisconsin in 1849, she spent most of her life in Texas and took the path less traveled for a woman of her time. She considered bookkeeping and pharmacy before deciding on medicine. When she began her practice in the small town of Granger, Texas, there were only a handful of women physicians in the U.S. While in college in Chicago, she became involved in the campaign for women’s voting rights. She helped pave the way for women by advocating to bring visionary suffragist Susan B. Anthony to Texas and organizing suffrage groups. Upon her death, she was widely recognized as one of the most remarkable women in Texas.
These women should give us all the courage and determination to take the road less traveled, as Robert Frost so eloquently wrote in his poetry.
Giddy-up!
Gay Gaddis
Founder. Author. Artist. Trailblazer.
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