Lena Johnson

Lena Johnson made her living by baking cakes and making “pull candy” taffy. She lived in a frame dwelling on Division Street (Truman: Avenue). In 1916, when the Boy Scout Troop needed a meeting place she gave them a small frame building at the rear of her property. At the scout meetings she provided cake and candy. In 1922, Scoutmaster Charles Sands, wrote the National Boy Scout Headquarters asking if it was permissible to have a Scout Mother. The National Headquarters replied there was no such title but they liked the idea and were suggesting it to other Scout Troops. She also organized the Girl's Friendly Society which met twice a week to help introverts get over their bashfulness. She taught them how to bake, make candy and aided the girls in cultivating lasting friendships. In an era, when married women lost all separate legal identity and women were expected to marry and not work outside of the home, Lena Johnson was able to support herself. Women were given the right to vote when the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was proclaimed on August 26, 1920. In 1927, Lena Johnson was elected to the City Council, the first woman elected to a political office in Monroe County. She soon decided politics was not for her and did not run for re election. When she died on. March 24, 1932, a respected citizen of Key West and an honored pioneer of women's rights, the Boy Scouts served as honorary pallbearers. , Donated by , Bellsouth .