By Sharon McPike
June 11, 2024
The United States Mint celebrated the Dr. Mary Edwards Walker Quarter during an event in Oswego, New York on June 8, 2024. The event was held in partnership with the National Women’s History Museum. The quarter honoring Dr. Mary Edwards Walker is the third release in 2024 and the 13th coin overall in the American Women Quarters™ (AWQ) Program.
More than 700 people attended the event at Oswego High School, where costumed reenactors from Fort Ontario presented the colors and the Oswego High School Brass Ensemble performed the National Anthem. The audience heard remarks from Robert Corradino, the Mayor of the City of Oswego; Rev. George DeMass, Oswego Town Historian and leading authority on Dr. Mary Edwards Walker; and Michelle Marra, the great-great-great granddaughter of Dr. Walker’s sister Vesta.
An informative panel discussion, moderated by Jennifer Herrera (Chief Communications Officer for the National Women’s History Museum) offered a unique glimpse into Dr. Mary Edwards Walker’s life and legacy. The three panelists included George DeMass, Phebe Hemphill (United States Mint Medallic Artist who designed and sculpted the Walker quarter), and Charles Hastings (Foundation and Special Programs Manager for Whitman-Walker Foundation).
The audience was also treated to a performance by actress Kathie Barnes, who performed an excerpt from her one woman play about Dr. Walker’s life.
Representing the Mint, Chief Risk Officer Melanie Barber spoke about Dr. Walker’s influence. “As a U.S. Army veteran myself, I am grateful for Dr. Walker and everything she did to open doors for generations of women like me. In fact, nearly 20 percent of U.S. service members today are female, and women can be found in virtually every military specialty, from infantry and special forces to cyber and space operations, fighter pilots, and, of course, as medical professionals in Dr. Walker’s image. These advances are only possible because of people like Dr. Walker, who came together to fight for what is right.”
Barber presented the Walker family and the Walker Celebration Committee with traditional shadowboxes containing quarters from both of our circulating production facilities in Denver and Philadelphia. Additionally, she participated in the ceremonial coin pour with Phebe Hemphill, Jennifer Herrera, Michelle Marra, and Mary Kay Stone (Chairman of the Board of County Historical Society), pouring quarters into an old Army trunk surrounded by roses – Dr. Walker’s favorite flower.
Each person who attended the event received a new Dr. Mary Edwards Walker quarter as they exited the theater.
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was the first woman U.S. Army surgeon and the only woman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. During the Civil War, she often crossed battle lines to care for wounded soldiers and was held as a prisoner of war for four months. She was also a woman’s suffrage and dress reform advocate.
Watch a video recording of the event on YouTube.
See more Inside the Mint articles.