Marlin Lane Rankin Honored by the WV Schools for the Deaf & The Blind 

West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Romney, WV, celebrated WVSDB alumnus WV State Delegate Marlin Lane Rankin, a hero in the battle for West Virginia's and America's ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The amendment's heaviest opposition came from an ambitious, unscrupulous, and unethical state legislator who surreptitiously joined forces with a well-funded opposition trying to keep women from voting. Delegate Rankin, Governor John J. Cornwell, and State Senator Garnett K. Kump, all of Romney, WV, played indispensable roles in turning a near defeat into victory for state and thereby national ratification. Delegate Rankin's efforts were absolutely crucial for preventing the loss of a slim majority in the House of Delegates. This truly became a battle of Right vs. Wrong, and that's the battle where Marlin Lane Rankin became a true hero for a woman's right to vote. The honoring ceremony was held in the newly dedicated Marlin Lane Rankin Hall on the WVSDB campus on August 26, 2023, celebrating the 103rd anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification.