For years during Women’s History Month, Kristine Huchthausen would transform her school hallways into museum-like exhibits showcasing vital contributions of women to society.
“I set up 40 to 50 photographs with short biographies throughout the halls,” she reminisced. “Every morning during March, my students would read a trivia question over the loudspeaker that could be answered from the information displayed. Winners would be awarded a Women’s History Month certificate. I think a lot of my former students still remember that.”
Huchthausen, a Uniondale Teachers Association retiree, says she was specifically passionate about educating generations of students on lesser-known women whose accomplishments aren’t always in history books, but should be.
“I made a big deal out of these women who were instrumental in medicine, science, art, children’s rights, you know, because so many of them are just not mentioned anywhere.”
A lifelong learner and art enthusiast, Huchthausen decided to pick up stained glass after retiring from three decades in education.
She became a member of Women Sharing Art, Inc., a group of female artists who were chosen to display their work at the inaugural Women Sharing Art Exhibition titled Therefore, I Am! at the Central Islip Federal Building.
Huchthausen, the only stained-glass artist featured in the gallery, created a stained-glass guitar titled Wielding Our Collective Power. She says her work is a response to how the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, is still impacting women more than 100 years after its ratification.
“It’s my response to how our power as women comes from the women who came before us, as well as those who are still with us,” she said. “The fact that women have had to fight over and over again for our right to do what men could always do — that amazes me.”
The exhibit runs through March 30, 2025.