Suessa Baldridge Blaine (February 25, 1860 – May 15, 1932) was an American writer who created plays about avoiding alcohol. She worked with the Federated Woman's Clubs and other groups.

Early life and education

Suessa Baldridge was born in Varick, New York, on February 25, 1860. She received her education at Wheaton College and Washington University in St. Louis. Blaine was raised in a home that supported the Prohibition movement. As a young girl, she took part in temperance meetings and was well-liked for her songs and speeches. During her time at Wheaton College, she joined the Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). In her hometown, she held an official position within that organization.

Career

She married Don P. Blaine of Romulus, New York, on March 13, 1890. After her marriage, she lived in Ovid, New York, where she served as president of the Ovid WCTU and as an officer of the Seneca County organization.

In 1894, she moved to Washington, D.C., but continued to spend summers in Ovid. In Washington, she became president of the Young WCTU local and general secretary of the Loyal Temperance Legion. In 1903, she became general secretary of the District of Columbia's Young WCTU and started an organizing campaign that earned the national prize banner for the largest increase in membership in the United States. She was appointed a national Young WCTU organizer and held this position for many years, traveling frequently to support the organization.

In 1910, she was elected as organizer and lecturer of the National WCTU. Her most notable project was a pageant-play called "Columbia's Congress," which began in Washington in 1910 and was later performed in major cities across the United States. Between 200 and 350 people participated in the cast.

Blaine was a long-time trustee of the District of Columbia Anti-Saloon League and worked actively to support Prohibition in the District. In 1913, she was appointed by President Wilson as a delegate representing the United States at the Fourteenth International Congress on Alcoholism in Milan, Italy. In April 1915, under the support of the Central WCTU and the Brooklyn Sunday School Union, Blaine led rehearsals for "Columbia's Congress," a temperance play she wrote in 2011 involving 200 participants. In 1916, she had to resign her position as organizer and lecturer of the National WCTU due to a serious illness that permanently affected her health.

She was a member of the American Executive Committee, appointed by the U.S. Department of State to arrange the Fifteenth International Congress, which took place in Washington, D.C., from September 21 to 20, 1920. Blaine created a pageant dedicated to the foreign nations represented at the Congress. She presented scenes from different eras of American history, using living actors to portray important figures. One scene showed General Washington with people who helped write the Constitution. This pageant, called "The Spirit of Temperance," was written and performed by Blaine with professional help. It took place at the east front of the Capitol on the first night of the Congress.

Blaine was known for using music and drama to share temperance messages. She wrote many songs and exercises for children and young people, which she used in her work in Washington and during field trips.

Another part of her work involved organizing large temperance meetings for Sunday-school children, often preceded by parades. The largest event happened in Washington in May 1913, when 3,000 children marched in a parade. Three auditoriums were used at the same time for the meetings, which were addressed by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and by Blaine, who gave an illustrated talk with children in costumes.