| Born December 26, 1910, in Gaffney, NC, Ruth Moss was one of four children. When she was very young, her family moved from Gaffney to Blacksburg so that her father could have a job that paid one dollar a week more than he was making.
Ruth’s mother was determined that the children were going to college, whether or not they had money to send them. However, when the time came, Ruth’s father made sure they had enough money to send her to college; in fact, the owner of the mill where he worked offered him a loan for Ruth’s college. She went to Limestone College and majored in English, preparing to become a teacher. After she graduated, no jobs were available, so she attended Appalachian State Teachers College for the summer.
Her first job was in the Dover Mill in the cost accounting department. After she became eligible to vote, her father took her to register and told the election official that she was a Democrat. While she cheerfully recants that as the way she became a Democrat, she says she laterlearned more about the political party’s platform and decided she agreed with it. She remains a Democrat today.
In 1939 she married Claude Easterling, a manager at Sears. Shortly after they married, they moved to Mississippi. They were married for about 7 years.
Her next job was in Charlotte, NC, with I.D. Blumenthal as executive secretary. Mr. Blumenthal was a significant driving force in the Charlotte area, investing money in what he felt were worthy causes. In fact, he donated money to a church project with which she was involved. Ruth also joined the Professional Secretaries, who were in the process of instituting a new secretarial certification exam. One of the first to take the exam, Ruth passed it.
She also joined both the Charlotte Business and Professional Women and the League of Women Voters. She was very active in the Charlotte Business and Professional Women (CBPW) and in 1955 became statepresident of the organization. While president, she strove to make the Equal Rights Amendment a reality. She also worked with Governor Terry Sanford to establish the Commission on the Status of Women.
In 1964, she was named Charlotte Woman of the Year, predominantly because of her work in the Commission. In 1970, she became the national president of Business and Professional Women, who were still working hard to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed.
In 1971, she was appointed to the Charlotte City Council, an appointment that she had wanted a woman to have, but did not necessarily want herself. Nevertheless, she accepted it, and the day she was appointed, the Equal Rights Amendment passed the United States Senate.
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