Note:  Barbara Irvine is a long-time member of NOW.

Alice Paul Institute founder receives award

By TODD MCHALE, Burlington County Times, July 15, 2005

CINNAMINSON - Friends of Barbara Irvine always used to ask her when she was going to get a real job.

And the response from Irvine, the founding president of the Alice Paul Institute, was always the same.

"Working on this project is as real as it gets," said Irvine, referring to the establishment of the Alice Paul Institute in Mount Laurel.

"The creation of this organization and the preservation of Paulsdale," the birthplace of Quaker suffragist Alice Paul, "was a monumental accomplishment completely done with volunteers."

The Cinnaminson resident's tireless effort over the years and her commitment to volunteering brought her national recognition last weekend.

Irvine was named the 2005 Woman of the Year by the Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority at its national convention in Cleveland last Saturday night.

"It was a great honor to be recognized at the national convention," Irvine said.  "I think it's nice that people beyond the immediate vicinity recognize the work.  Also, I think it recognizes how significant it is to preserve women's historical sites."

The national service sorority selected Irvine for her contribution to the preservation of women's historical sites and the education of the public about the life and work of Alice Paul.

Under Irvine's leadership, the Alice Paul Institute was created in 1985 to enhance public awareness of the life and work of Paul.

The institute acquired Paulsdale, on Hooton Road in Mount Laurel, in 1990 to establish a center for women's history and leadership development.  The farmhouse has been restored to the period from 1895 to 1920 when Paul's family lived there.

Irvine said she didn't know the sorority's Philadelphia alumni chapter had nominated her until she received a letter earlier this year saying she had been selected as the organization's woman of the year.

All that work did eventually pay off with a "real job" -- executive director of the New Jersey Historic Trust.

"I guess I developed a lot of experience while working on this grassroots preservation organization," she said.

E-mail: tmchale@phillyBurbs.com