March is National Women’s History Month and Call Newspapers annually pays tribute to the contributions local women have made to our quality of life.

The observance began when Congress created the National Women in History Project during the 1970s, which asked a simple question of historians: Where are the women; what were they doing?

That prompted this newspaper to ask the same question locally.

Nineteen years ago, the Call began publishing weekly installments during March featuring women whose contributions have made a difference in this area. This effort has blossomed into an annual special section of the Mail Call, which today features Rose Rieper Meier and Mother Caroline Friess.

Meier’s experiences as a prisoner during World War II remain part of the lessons for nurse trainees at the Lutheran School of Nursing in St. Louis.

This year marks the 175th Anniversary of the School Sisters of Notre Dame and the 150th Anniversary of their work in St. Louis. Part of the yearlong celebration is honoring the memory of Mother Caroline, who founded 250 schools throughout the Mississippi and Missouri river valleys.

History books often exclude the contributions made by women. Though it is not our intention to rewrite history, the newspaper believes that the two women we introduce in this issue are an accurate reflection of what Congress felt was missing from American history.