Santa Fe Living Treasures – Elder Stories

Edith's education at Vassar College left her with "some strong role models for educated women" and a sense of "obligation and excitement about using whatever interests you for improving the world." Her visit to West Virginia coal mining towns and factories in the East gave her "a sense of what people were doing to the earth."

With her husband, John H. Pierpont, a public relations executive, Edith raised her own five children, in turn, with an awareness of nature. As she became more interested in politics, she shifted her focus from her children's school activities to work as a reporter on her local newspaper. She interviewed many political figures, followed political campaigns, and covered environmental issues for ten years. She also earned a master's degree from Columbia University Teachers' College, and taught school.