Adele Ferguson (1924/1925 – March 3, 2015) was an American journalist for the ''

Bremerton Sun The ''Kitsap Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Bremerton, Washington, United States. It covers general news and serves Kitsap, Jefferson, and Mason counties on the west side of Puget Sound. It has a circulation of about 30,000 while reach ...

''. She was the first woman to work as a full-time reporter at the

Washington State Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senat ...

Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, a position she held for 32 years.

Life and career

Ferguson grew up in Minnesota as a member of a large family, the second of ten children. Ferguson, who never attended college and had no formal training, first joined a newsroom in 1943 by lying about her previous experience. After the conclusion of World War II, Ferguson began working for the ''Bremerton Sun'' as a columnist, initially covering local politics and the Bremerton Police Department. Her column was titled "The Farmer's Daughter" and was published in the "women's section" of the newspaper. In 1957 she was excluded from a journalists tour on the

USS Nautilus (SSN-571) USS ''Nautilus'' (SSN-571) was the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine and the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on 3 August 1958. Her initial commanding officer was Eugene "Dennis" Wilkinson, a ...

nuclear-powered submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

for being a woman. After a column she wrote about the snub attracted nationwide attention, the Navy reversed their decision and gave her a personal tour. Ferguson began exclusively covering the Washington State Legislature in 1961, becoming the first full-time female reporter there for any newspaper. She faced sexism and harassment upon moving to Olympia. In 2008 she recounted that "they didn't speak to me, the men," referring to other members of the press pool. Early in her time there she was sexually harassed by a state senator. Over time, however, she gained a reputation for being a fierce and blunt reporter. Former

Washington Secretary of State The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Washington. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. The ...

Ralph Munro once commented on her columns, saying: She retired from full-time reporting in 1993 but continued to write the occasional column until her death in 2015. In 1998 a bridge across Washington State Route 305 in

Poulsbo Poulsbo ( ) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 9,200 at the 2010 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018. The area was historically in ...

was named "The Adele Ferguson Overpass" in her honor. In 2009 she was one of the first three people honored by the Washington State Legacy Project, which publishes detailed histories of notable Washington residents.

Personal life

Ferguson was married to John Philipsen from 1946 until his death in 2005. She had been briefly married before meeting him. She had two children. Ferguson was politically a conservative, and often attracted controversy for her political opinions. She died on March 3, 2015, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Adele 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American journalists American women columnists Journalists from Washington (state) 1920s births Year of birth uncertain 2015 deaths Politics of Washington (state) American political journalists 21st-century American women journalists 20th-century American women journalists