Mina Benson Hubbard

I read a book....yes, I know that is shocking given that I'm a librarian....but it was a book that has stayed with me for years. It is a book about a woman called Mina Benson Hubbard. She was a remarkable woman. This is how the online Canadian Encyclopedia described her and her accomplishments:

From the time she plunged into the unknown Labrador wild, crossing huge lakes of wind-whipped white caps, running kilometre after kilometre of dancing, foam-flecked rapids down the George River until it lost its wilderness spirit in Ungava Bay, Mrs. Hubbard was not idle. She brought back the first maps of the Naskaupi and George River valleys, which were accepted by the American Geographical Society and the Geographical Society of Great Britain. She made notes on the flora and fauna of Labrador. She described in detail the great Labrador caribou migration and photographed the Naskaupi and Montagnais Indians who hunted the animals for their food and clothes.

Mrs. Hubbard's expedition was extraordinary by any measure. Given the era and the fact that she was a woman, her trip stands out like a beacon in the annals of Canadian exploration.

I'm blessed to be a part of a round robin journal exchange that has just begun. I have to admit that I am partial to exchanges in which the journals actually travel. I know the risks....postal issues being the biggest....but it means something to have a journal in one's hand. To feel its textures and experience it's colours and vibrancy. The theme of my journal is "Women Who Dared...." and that is what inspired this post. The spread on Mina Benson Hubbard had been nibbling at my artful subconscious for some time and this was my chance to release it. I hope to continue to commemorate females who accomplished extraordinary feats in times of incredible hardship and in societies that discouraged them.

If you get a chance, check out the book on Mina....you won't be disappointed. I'd love to hear about the women who inspire you!