Linda Billups Pinkerton Joslin

is honored with a Brick from Friends and Fans

Always an advocate for women's rights and the needs of the underdog, Linda Joslin belongs on the Plaza of Heroines for her untiring work with a range of organizations, including the National Organization for Women, the Women's Crisis Center, Trust Women, and the Democratic Party.

During that time, she also survived sexual assault and an abusive marriage, then raised a successful daughter and nursed her second husband through a debilitating illness.

Her willingness to take on almost any type of project with cheerfulness and determination has inspired generations of Kansas women. On the occasion of her birthday on Sept. 25, Linda's many friends and fans honor her with this brick in the same spirit of love she has shown us for the past five decades.

Linda Billups Pinkerton Joslin is a woman who seldom gets praised for all she accomplishes. She is a mother, feminist, Democrat, activist. She perceives the jobs to be done and goes about doing them, often in the background. As the President of Wichita NOW, she produced the programs for meetings, conferences, and actions that showcased the knowledge of other women. Linda made the phone calls, walked for candidates, produced mailings and all the other necessary jobs for an organization or a campaign to be successful.

And from where did this wealth of energy and knowledge spring? Linda liked to help her parents garden. When she was four, she especially wanted to raise PICKLED beets, because they were her favorite. Her father tried to explain that he could plant beets, but not PICKLED beets. Even her grandmother confirmed that PICKLED beets had to be made, not grown. And Linda learned that it sometimes takes more than one step to accomplish your goal.

As a child in the 1950s, Linda noticed that women often got the short end of the stick. She saw women do the work and men take the credit. And because of that, she decided to use politics to create change. She called the Democratic party and offered to volunteer. They, in turn, directed her to particular candidates and she soon learned the dynamics of a campaign. In the 1970s she joined forces with Tim Holt and formed a group called PDQ- Progressive Democratic Forum. This Sedgwick County group pushed for progessive ideas to become major planks in the Democratic platform. PDQ energized and mobilized people who became the base of the party for decades.

She married and had a daughter, Patricia, whom she soon had to raise by herself. The child support payments were very small. It was tough not having enough to provide for Patricia. Linda's doctor, who was so angered by the low support, made clothes for Linda and Patricia herself. Linda worked multiple jobs and even took welfare assistance in order to get through college. She was determined to be a self-sufficient, responsible citizen. She had worked in a bank and majored in accounting, so she could get a scholarship. With that background, she likes to say, “Figures don't lie, but liars can figure!”

At age 48, she married again. Bill Joslin was also a political junkie and they watched CNN avidly. News and political magazines have always piled up around her chair. Although he had severe physical impairments and they had to modify both their home and car, they enjoyed 16 years together. They “adopted” people, especially those who needed financial help. And through them, they gained a bunch of “grandkids”, who shared lots of love.

Linda helped start the Rape Center, now known as the Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center. While she was worked days at Boeing, Linda spend evenings speaking to groups to raise awareness and money. To this cause, she dedicated years of time and effort.

Throughout her years of battling cancer, she has maintained a cheerful attitude. She points out that being bald means she never has a bad hair day. And about the loss of her breasts, she says, “Don't really need them anymore. And the pads they provided to fill my bra are big enough to sleep on!”

So, thank you, Linda, for being a friend, a go-getter, and a mentor for women. And please take a bow. You have earned lots of praise!