Charlotte Milton Caldwell Giesen (January 27, 1907 – January 28, 1995) (nicknamed "Pinkie") was a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

politician and news editor. A lifelong resident of

Radford, Virginia Radford (formerly Lovely Mount, Central City, English Ferry and Ingle's Ferry) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of 2020, the population was 16,070 by the United States Census Bureau. For statistical purposes, the Bureau ...

, she served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1958 to 1961, becoming the first

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

woman elected to the House.

Life and career

Charlotte Milton Caldwell was born to Charles Minor Caldwell and his wife the former Ida Goodykoontz in

. She graduated from

Radford College Radford College is an independent school, Anglican, coeducational day school, located in Bruce, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Founded in 1984, the college is named after Bishop Lewis Bostock Radford. It has a non-selective enrolm ...

, then known as the Women's Division of

Virginia Polytechnic Institute Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, in 1925. On April 5, 1929 she married Arthur Rossa Giesen, and they had a son and daughter who survived them. In 1954 Charlotte Giesen became the first woman elected to Radford's city council. Her husband, Arthur Giesen, was Radford's mayor and also served on the city council. Charlotte Giesen was for many years the women's page editor of the ''Radford News Journal'' and also edited the original ''Montgomery News Messenger''. She served on the board of directors of both the Radford Child Care Center and the Radford chapter of the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. She was also active in her Lutheran Church, the American Legion auxiliary and the local chapter of the American Farm Bureau. During the

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

crisis, voters elected Giesen in 1957 to the House of Delegates (a part-time position). She defeated incumbent Democrat John L. Whitehead, a member of the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

who supported closing schools to prevent racial integration. Giesen represented Radford and the surrounding Montgomery County, and won re-election in 1959. Her platform, considered progressive for the day, included reinstating compulsory education, requiring polio vaccinations and the jailing of drunk drivers, and support for

open government Open government is the governing doctrine which sustain that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state and ...

. Fellow delegate, Democrat

Dorothy Shoemaker McDiarmid Dorothy Shoemaker McDiarmid (October 22, 1906 – June 8, 1994) was a teacher, real estate broker, Quaker activist, and Virginia legislator for nearly 26 years. Early and family life Born in Waco, Texas to U.S. Department of Agriculture employe ...

, characterized Giesen as "everyone's favorite aunt." Giesen served on four committees: Federal Relations, Immigration, Printing, and Public Property. In 1961 Giesen was defeated for reelection by Democrat Kenneth I. Devore, as schools had reopened, but many whites supported private segregated academies. Devore likewise served two terms, and received more prestigious committee assignments (to General Laws, Roads, and House Expenses). Nonetheless, Charlotte Giesen continued her civic involvement. In 1962 she was reelected to the Radford City Council, on which she served until 1966. Giesen also served on the Board of Visitors of her alma mater from 1970 until 1978. Moreover, her son, Pete Giesen, who had become President of Augusta Steel Corporation, continued the family's Republican political tradition in 1963 by winning election to the Virginia House of Delegates from

Augusta County Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Its county ...

and the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Although Augusta Steel closed, and he lost his initial campaign in 1961 and a re-election bid during the post-

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

Democratic landslide, Pete Giesen represented those cities and parts of Augusta County as well as all or parts of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

and Rockingham Counties for more than three decades of elected public service (1964-1996).

Theodore Roosevelt Dalton Theodore Roosevelt Dalton (July 3, 1901 – October 30, 1989) was a Virginia attorney and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He was known as Virginia's "Mr. Republican." Ed ...

and his son, future governor John N. Dalton, were Giesen's next-door neighbors during her time as a delegate.

Death and legacy

Widowed, Giesen died at her home in Radford on January 28, 1995. She was buried in that city's West View Cemetery. During her lifetime, Giesen was voted Radford Woman of the Year by the Business and Professional Women's Association, and in 1960 the local chapter of the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

elected her Outstanding Woman of the Year. Her family established a scholarship to honor her and her husband at Radford. The House of Delegates and State Senate jointly memorialized her. The Virginia Tech library, special collections division, has her papers, including a taped interview.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giesen, Charlotte 1907 births 1995 deaths Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia city council members People from Radford, Virginia Radford University alumni Women state legislators in Virginia Journalists from Virginia Women newspaper editors American women journalists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American politicians Women city councillors in Virginia 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American journalists Women's page journalists