Huntington Herald-Dispatch
February 9, 1978
Irene Drukker Broh, suffragette, feminist and civic leader, died yesterday at her residence at the age of 97.
The daughter of one of the pioneers of the suffrage movement, Mrs. Broh, 629 11th Ave., followed in her mother's footsteps and became involved in the movement on her own. She holds the distinction of being the first woman in Cabell County to vote.
"In November 1920, I voted on a paper ballot for Woodrow Wilson," she recalled in a 1974 interview. "After women got the vote, a whole new era opened up."
By 1915, Huntington's Equal Suffrage Club was founded, and Mrs. Broh was the president when the 19th Amendment was passed.
Mrs. Broh did not confine her interests to "the movement" and women's rights.
During her interview four years ago, she recalled her role in efforts to obtain Huntington's floodwalls.
At the time, her husband, the late Eph Broh, was manager of the former Broh Clothing Co. "In (the flood of) 1913, we went into the Broh Clothing Co. in a skiff. It was a sea from here to Kenova. Our house was not flooded and it was full of refugees."
"From that time it was a fight for life to get the floodwall, and it took just as long as it's taking today to get a bridge at Guyandotte."
In the 1950's Mrs. Broh headed a local campaign for meat and poultry inspection.
"Some people called me the chicken lady," Mrs. Broh said of her campaign.
Until her death, Mrs. Broh was active in the Ohev Sholom Reform Temple and was its oldest living member. She also belonged to the B'Nai Sholom Congregation and the Woman's Club of Huntington.
Earlier this year, she was made an honorary member of the National Organization for Women.
Survivors include three sons, Adolph D. Broh, Charles S. Broh and E. Henry Broh, all of Huntington, six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1959.
Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Klingel-Carpenter Mortuary. Burial will be in Spring Hill Cemetery.
Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. this evening at the mortuary.