Florence Fifer Bohrer and the League of Women Voters

The seeds of the League of Women Voters of McLean County were first planted on a blustery winter day in early 1924 when Florence Fifer Bohrer announced her intention to become Illinois’ first woman state senator. Her boosters called themselves the Florence Fifer Bohrer Club. Membership grew to over 175 during Boher’s campaign and nearly half of them traveled to Springfield the following January to witness her swearing in. In return, Bohrer faithfully returned home at regular intervals to keep her supporters appraised of her activities in the senate.

When Bohrer lost her third senatorial election in 1932, the club disbanded for a short time then reformed as a local chapter of the League of Women Voters with Bohrer as its first president. She would go on to serve in leadership roles in both the state and national League over the subsequent decades while remaining the heart and soul of the McLean County League.