By Sterling McGinn
Two Newberry women, the late Frances (Tomkiel) Beaulieu and the late Carmel (Stewart) Mullen, are featured as part of the Extraordinary Women exhibit displayed this spring and summer at the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University (NMU).
The exhibit opened on Saturday, March 23 during Women’s History Month, and will remain open until August 3 and will tour the Upper Peninsula during the fall.
The exhibit features stories of about 60 women from the Upper Peninsula who made significant impacts as public servants, educators, and activists, and in politics and medicine.
A majority of the research creating the exhibit was conducted by students of Dr. Emily Rome’s women’s history course, which took place at NMU. Nominees were also submitted by individuals and organizations. The final list was determined by a committee of U.P. museum directors and librarians.
Two of Newberry’s former residents, Beaulieu and Mullen, were picked for the exhibit.
Frances Beaulieu had the distinction of being the first female trustee elected to the Newberry Village Council and co-owned Beaulieu’s Furniture Store.
Beaulieu was born on November 29, 1916, in Grand Marais to Joseph and Pauline (Cavish) Tomkiel. She was a graduate and valedictorian of Burt Township High School in Grand Marais.
On December 31, 1936, she married Charles B. “Bud” Beaulieu.
In addition to her years of service to the Village, she was an active member of St. Gregory’s Catholic Church, a longtime member of the Newberry Kiwanis Club, and chairwoman of the Kiwanis Fourth of July Parade committee. In 2007, Beaulieu was awarded the George Hixson award for her years of service and in 1999, was named the Businessperson of the Year by the Newberry Area Chamber of Commerce.
Carmel (Stewart) Mullen grew up in Newberry and later became an Ice Capades performer and a pioneer advocate for Special Education.
The 1939 Newberry High School graduate began figuring skating in 1938-39. She learned to skate behind the old elementary school on the rink created by the Civilian Conservation Corps every winter.
After high school, Mullen attended business college in Grand Rapids. While there, her father told her that the Ice Capades were holding auditions in Chicago. With World War II beginning, the Ice Capades were losing many of their male skaters and needed to hire female performers.
Mullen was chosen, but put her ice-skating talents on hold to help the war effort. She joined the workforce as a “Rosie the Riveter” where she made machine guns and 30-caliber shells.
When she returned to the Ice Capades, Mullen was put in charge of the chorus line and performed comedic numbers. She met her future husband, skating acrobat Kenneth Mullen there, too. The Mullens traveled all over and performed in Madison Square Garden, skated for the Royal Court, and even starred on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Mullen helped start Special Education in Fresno County, California Office of Education and was active in starting Special Olympics.
Some of the other women featured in the display include medical researcher Kathleen Shingler Weston, Anishinaabe poetess Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, labor organizer Annie Clemenc, daredevil wing/walker Sarah Kalishek, and civil rights activist and suffragette Blanche Williams Stubbs.
