“Giving to the Stowe Center makes me feel like I have impact.”
For supporter and volunteer Judith Lohman, the Stowe Center for Literary Activism feels like a home away from home.
Introduced to the Stowe Center in the mid-1980s by her late mother-in-law Cynthia Reik, a former Stowe Center trustee and English teacher at Hartford Public High School, Judith has been a steadfast volunteer and donor ever since.
“I feel like I partially live here, so I want it to be nice!” Judith shared laughing. “It’s nice to work on interesting gardens that people will see and enjoy.”
Her hands have helped make Harriet’s Backyard the thriving welcoming space it is today. “Gardening is calming and makes some of the difficult things fall away. Sometimes the world can make you feel bad—but volunteering at the Stowe Center makes me feel good!”
Judith’s passion for history keeps her deeply connected to the museum. “Giving to the Stowe Center makes me feel like I have an impact and that I’m part of the organization. The Stowe Center tells the truth and is not afraid to look at tough history. History has always been tough, and it can be hard to look back. But, if the history you’re looking at isn’t tough, it’s not history—it’s a fantasy.”
Recently, Judith attended a donor gathering to view an extraordinary new discovery: an unpublished post-bellum freedom narrative by the Rev. Dr. William H. Phillips, uncovered in the Stowe Center’s archival vault. Hearing how Phillips used his ability to read to inform his community as an act of resistance against enslavement left her inspired:
“It’s uplifting to know Phillips’s story. He was born into a terrible situation but still managed to find hope.”
Judith believes the same power lives on in you, our community of supporters.
“People like Reverend Phillips, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe were living in a difficult moment in history and they didn’t throw up their hands. They survived and worked to make something better.”
Because of supporters like Judith and you, the Stowe Center continues to amplify voices of truth, courage, and conscience and remains a vital hub for connection, dialogue, and community change.
To learn more about how to give or volunteer at Stowe, visit our website at StoweCenter.org/Support.
