Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame inducts members

Nancy Batson Crews and Rosa Gerhardt were honored as the 2004 inductees into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame (AWHOF) during a ceremony March 4 at Judson College.

Alabama’s first lady Patsy Riley served as keynote speaker. She reminded her audience that many women “opened doorways for others” through their pioneering spirit and determination. “The ladies we honor today had courage,” Riley said. “They didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. No man or woman stood in the way of their passion.”

Crews, who died in 2001, was the first Alabama woman to fly military aircraft in World War II as part of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), U.S. Army Air Force. She learned to fly as a student at the University of Alabama and earned her private pilot’s license in 1940 when few women were entering this field. A pilot of exceptional ability, Crews played a leadership role in aviation, blazing a trail for women pilots of today.

Crews was introduced by Sarah Byrn Rickman who is writing her biography. She described Crews as a woman determined to follow her dream of flying and who wasn’t deterred by barriers. “She was a born leader,” Rickman said. “Crews was elected president of the Women’s Student Government Association at the University of Alabama, and she continued to inspire others to follow their hearts.”

Crews’ son Paul unveiled the bronze plaque, which will be installed in the AWHOF headquarters in A. Howard Bean Hall on the Judson campus.

Gerhardt was the first woman in Alabama to serve as president of a bar association. She graduated from Cumberland School of Law in Lebanon, Tenn., in 1930. After passing the Alabama bar examination, she began practicing law in Mobile and was elected to the position of president of the Mobile Bar Association in 1947. Gerhardt’s independent nature and confidence in her abilities helped her overcome obstacles presented by the male-dominated profession she chose. She was a leader and pioneer for women in the legal field, preparing the way for subsequent generations of women lawyers. She died in 1975.

Gerhardt was introduced by Mary Margaret Bailey and Alabama Supreme Court Justice Janie Shores, both of Mobile. “Women like Rosa made decisions, overcame questions and doubts, broke barriers and paved the way for others,” Bailey said. “Rosa took an interest in me and encouraged me to go to law school,” said Shores. “I owe her a lot.”

Gerald Berger and Frances Mutchnick, Gerhardt’s nephew and niece of Mobile, unveiled her plaque.

Nominees to the AWHOF must be natives of Alabama, or very closely identified with the state, and must have made a significant contribution through their lives on a state, national or international level.