FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT:
Monday, October 06, 2008 Ellen K. Wheeler
Director of Development & Public Relations
(585) 279-7490, ext. 12
From the Susan B. Anthony House:
VOTE! said the lady with the alligator purse
Rochester, NY—The Susan B. Anthony House, home for forty years of the famed women’s-rights and human-rights advocate, is promoting the vote this year with a bold new pin that directs one and all “VOTE! said the lady with the alligator purse.” The line is taken from an old children’s jump-roping rhyme:
Miss Lulu had a baby.
She called him Tiny Tim.
She put him in the bathtub
to see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water
He ate up all the soap.
He tried to eat the bathtub
but it wouldn’t go down his throat.
Call for the doctor
Call for the nurse
Call for the Lady
with the Alligator Purse!
Mumps, said the doctor
Measles, said the nurse
Vote! said the Lady
With the Alligator Purse!
And of course, the lady with the alligator purse was Susan B. Anthony! For dozens of years, Miss Anthony traveled all over the United States and Europe, promoting woman suffrage. She became well known in all the places she went for her signature ensemble—long black dress, red shawl, and alligator bag. Children everywhere knew her as “the lady with the alligator purse” and so eventually included her in a jump-rope rhyme.
The Susan B. Anthony House is selling the buttons for $1.99 each in its gift shop in the Visitors Center at 19 Madison Street. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The gift shop also sells jump ropes that include the rhyme.
The Susan B. Anthony House is supported primarily through the contributions of its members and donors. The Susan B. Anthony House is not affiliated with other organizations bearing her name.
Mission Statement (adopted 1/2007): The Susan B. Anthony House is a learning center through which we share and interpret Miss Anthony’s life as a champion of women’s rights, thereby inspiring and challenging individuals to make a positive difference in their lives and communities.