Elly Peterson: "Mother" of the Moderates

Illustrations

The children of John Charles and Maude McMillan: (from left) John Charles Jr., Mary Catherine, Lee Gibson, and Ella Maude, circa 1920. (Photo courtesy of Holly Shrader.) Elly McMillan in her Red Cross uniform, Washington, DC, 1943. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Elly Peterson with (from left) Allie Marriott, Mitt Romney, J. Willard Marriott, and Lenore Romney, October 1963. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Lenore and George Romney with Elly and Pete Peterson at a January 1964 dinner honoring Peterson following her appointment as assistant chairman of the Republican National Committee. (Photo by Lawrence Belland, courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Elly Peterson with young volunteers during her 1964 U.S. Senate campaign. (Photo by Douglas G. Ashley, Birmingham, Michigan, courtesy of Margaret Cooke.) Elly Peterson at a campaign stop during her 1964 U.S. Senate campaign. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Richard M. Nixon, George Romney, and Elly Peterson during the 1964 campaign. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Michigan Republican Party chairman Elly Peterson with party public relations director John Toepp outside the state Capitol in Lansing. (Photo by Tom O’Reilly, The Blade [Toledo], April 18, 1965, reprinted with permission. Courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Michigan Republican State Central Committee Papers.) Pete and Elly Peterson with their dog, Jake, at their home,“Holiday Hill,” in Charlotte, Michigan, early 1965. (Photo by Tom O’Reilly, The Blade [Toledo], April 18, 1965, reprinted with permission. Courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Michigan Republican State Central Committee Papers.) Elly Peterson straightens Gov. George Romney’s tie at a political dinner. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Elly Peterson (front row, far right) at a meeting of the Republican State Chairmen’s Advisory Committee, Washington, DC, January 16, 1969. (Photo by Capitol and Glogau Photographers, Washington, DC, courtesy of Margaret Cooke.) Republican National Committee chairman Rogers Morton (second from left) and Republican National Committee assistant chairman Elly Peterson at an Oval Office meeting with President Richard M. Nixon, November 1969. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Elly Peterson with members of her staff at the Republican National Committee: (from left) Jackie Fernald, Nancy Risque Rohrbach, Christine Todd Whitman, and Pam Curtis. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Elly and Pete Peterson with the “Mother” ice sculpture created for the party marking her retirement from the Republican National Committee, December 15, 1970. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) ERAmerica executive director Jane Wells and cochairs Elly Peterson and Liz Carpenter review map showing the states that had ratified the Equal Rights Amendment, February 1976. (Photo by Joe DiDio, National Education Association Communications Services, ERAmerica Records. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.) Elly Peterson and President Gerald R. Ford in the Oval Office, 1976. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Elly Peterson, former first lady Betty Ford, and Bella Abzug listen as first lady Rosalynn Carter addresses the ERAmerica rally at the International Women’s Year Conference in Houston, November 1977. (Photo by Carolyn Salisbury, National Education Association, ERAmerica Records. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.) Protestors, including Elly Peterson, march in Detroit in opposition to the 1980 Republican National Convention’s failure to endorse the Equal Rights Amendment in its platform. (Photo courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Elly M. Peterson Papers.) Martha Griffiths, James Blanchard, and Elly Peterson at the luncheon where Peterson and other moderate Republican women endorsed Democrat Blanchard in his 1982 race for governor of Michigan. (Photo courtesy of Margaret Cooke.) Elly and Pete Peterson and her sister, Mary Richmond, vacationing in Maui. (Photo courtesy of Mary Ann Richmond.) ...