Miriam LaFollette "Mimi" Summerskill (June 2, 1917January 31, 2008) was an American educator, author, political activist, and vineyard owner.

Early life and education

Mimi was the eldest of four children. She grew up in

Colfax, Washington Colfax is the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census. The population is estimated at 2,911 per the State of Washington Office of Financial Management in 2018 making Colfax the secon ...

where her father, William Leroy LaFollette Jr., was an attorney and politician and her mother was the daughter of the Congregational Church missionary. She was educated in the local public schools. She studied the violin, was rodeo queen, and took lessons in elocution with Ida Lou Anderson. She began college at nearby

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

and graduated from Stanford University, where she played the violin in the college orchestra and was part of the Speakers' Bureau.

Media

In the pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

radio era she hosted her own show for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

, broadcasting from

Waikiki Beach Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. In the 1950s she worked on several programs in the early days of public television for KQED in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

Educator

A firm believer in learning through doing, she founded InterAlp, a program that sent American high school students abroad to live with local families in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. She helped establish the theater at Athens College in Greece.

Vintner

Along with her husband, John Summerskill, she founded LaFollette Vineyard in the Belle Mead section of

Montgomery Township, New Jersey Montgomery Township is a township in southern Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township’s population was 23,690, representing a 6.5% increase ...

. They produced a

Seyval blanc Seyval blanc (or Seyve-Villard hybrid number 5276winepros.com.au ) is a hybrid wine grape variety used to make white wines. Its vines ripen early, are productive and are suited to fairly cool climates. Seyval blanc is grown mainly in England,win ...

in the winery they built on their vineyard just north of

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

. Their LaFollette brand was a local favorite and the annual grape harvest was featured in the November 15, 1989, issue of

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

Political activist

Mimi encouraged political dialogue and discussion. Politicians, policy makers, journalists, business people, artists and show business people discussed issues around her pool. During the 1992 presidential campaign,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

spent a day at the LaFollette Vineyard discussing political strategy with fourteen Democratic governors and their staffs.

Author and writer

She authored four books: ''Aegean Summer,'' ''Seduced by a Greek Island,'' ''Daughter of the Vine,'' and ''The Land of Solomon and Sheba.''

Family

She was a member of the La Follette family. Her grandfather was Washington state Congressman William La Follette, cousin of Wisconsin Senator

Robert La Follette Sr. Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

Indiana educator and Tennessee industrialist Harvey Marion LaFollette was her great uncle. Her father was William Leroy LaFollette Jr.,

Whitman County, Washington Whitman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,973. The county seat is Colfax, and its largest city is Pullman. The county was formed from Stevens County in 1871. It is named ...

prosecuting attorney and state legislator. The artist Chester La Follette was her uncle. Editor and writer

Suzanne La Follette Suzanne Clara La Follette (June 24, 1893 – April 23, 1983) was an American journalist and author who advocated for libertarian feminism in the first half of the 20th century. As an editor she helped found several magazines. She was an early and a ...

was her aunt. Political leader Richard L. Wright was her son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerskill, Mimi Lafollette La Follette family People from Moscow, Idaho People from Colfax, Washington People from Montgomery Township, New Jersey Stanford University alumni Writers from Idaho Writers from New Jersey Writers from Washington (state) American people of Welsh descent 1917 births 2008 deaths