Iola Public Library celebrates Women’s History Month Saturday, March 9, at 2 p.m. with a free family program from the Martin & Osa Johnson Safari Museum, Chanute.
Curator Jacquelyn Borgeson Zimmer will highlight the life and career of Chanute native Osa Johnson (1894-1953).
Osa Johnson earned fame as a writer, photographer, filmmaker, explorer, aviator, fashion designer and businesswoman. Her bestseller, “I Married Adventure,” (1940) is still in print.
From 1917 to 1936 she and husband Martin were the first to film the wilderness of Kenya, the Congo, British North Borneo and the Solomon and New Hebrides islands.
Movie fans eagerly awaited new releases of such titles as “Simba” (1928) and “Baboona” (1935). Their films documented a wilderness and tribal culture that has long since vanished.
Zimmer also provides an overview of the museum’s new and recently updated exhibits. And, especially for kids, she has some coloring sheets from the Johnsons’ daily comic strips and some African musical instruments to try out.
