So who was Mrs. Ethel T. Wead Mick anyway?

Ethel Therese Wead was born March 9, 1881 in Iowa. She was the youngest child in her family, and her father died a few months before she was born. Her mother suddenly found herself a single parent, raising three young children and a newborn baby (Ethel). But Ethel’s mother was an independent and confident woman and despite the hardship of losing her husband, she persevered and successfully raised her children on her own, thereby laying the foundations for Ethel to look up to and grow up into a self-assured, poised, determined woman of her own.

During Ethel’s childhood, her family was closely-knit and religious. Every night, her mother would gather the children around her and read bible stories. One of her favorite books in the Bible was the Book of Job. She always told her daughters that she hoped they would become as fair as the daughters of Job. It’s no wonder that Ethel would one day use the Book of Job and its parallels to everyday life-overcoming obstacles to become successful in the end- as the basis of Job’s Daughters. In addition to teaching Ethel and her siblings about Job, Ethel’s mother had also been a schoolteacher and instilled in her family a strong love of education. From this, Ethel attended medical school to further her love of education. Imagine the shock and disapproval Ethel faced when she enrolled in medical school!! Remember that is was in the early 1900s. At this time it was not even entirely proper for young ladies to do much of anything outside the home, let alone attempt to become a doctor! Picture this young woman with the determination to further her education, having the confidence to face rejection and ridicule, going out on her own in a field few women had even attempted to break into. It’s no surprise that she caught the eye of a fellow student, William Mick, who would become her husband and help bring her dream of a premier youth group for girls into reality.

You see, Ethel T. Wead Mick also believed that there is neither a greater nor honorable career in the entire world than the training of youth. She was quite interested in the idea of DeMolay- a character-building organization for young men sponsored by Masons. Since she and Dr. Mick had two daughters and no sons, she began to dream about the same kind of character-building organization for young ladies. She shared with her husband the early Biblical training she had received from her mother concerning the Book of Job, the ideals found in that story, and her belief that those ideals would benefit all young ladies. Ethel had two main purposes when creating this organization for girls with Masonic relationship-first, to build character through moral and spiritual development; and second, to establish a scholarship fund for all members of Job’s Daughters, so they too would have the chances to further their education and obtain any career they wanted! After much research and planning, Ethel T. Wead Mick founded Job’s Daughters in 1920 in Omaha, Nebraska, in memory of her mother, the greatest influence in her life.

It is in every March, the month of her Birthday, that members of Job’s Daughters take time to honor our founder and remember that she is so much more that just our founder. She is more that just a picture in front of our books. She represents every one of us- every dream, every idea, and every goal. Her sense of conviction, her determination to succeed, and her belief in herself and others made HER every dream, every idea, and every goal become a reality. It is these kinds of ideals-leadership, determination, ambition, conviction, belief & confidence in oneself to reach your goals and dreams that this organization continues to teach our members even today, over 80 years after Ethel created this wonderful group. And it is with these ideals, so needed in today’s society, that young women can learn to overcome any obstacle they face to grow up into poised, self-assured, successful leaders in the workplace, the community, and in life.