User:GreenLipstickLesbian/Brideen Crawford Milner

Brideen Marie Crawford Milner (1921-1997) was an American banker and businesswoman. In 2023 she was posthumously inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.

Early life
Milner was born Brideen Marie O'Brien in 1921. At the time of her birth he parents were living in Seattle, Washington. Her father was from County Cook, Ireland and her mother was also of Irish descent. She married Ben Crawford, an Alaskan man in the army, in 1942. After he was discharged in 1945, he and Milner moved themselves and their two children to Seward, Alaska. Ben worked first for the Civil Aeronautics board, and then as a bank manager, a job he left a few years later after becoming dissatisfied with the way the business was being run.

In 1949, Milner and her husband established the Alaska State Bank. To raise enough money, she and Ben took our loans, morgages, saving bonds, and borrowed money from his parents. Milner took control of the advertising and public relations, and worked closely with her husband until his death in 1961. Milner became chairman of the board of the bank, during which time she took an active role, visiting various banking associaions and securing clients for her bank. One such client was the JCPenney store in Fairbanks, whose business she secured after a visit to the company's headquarters in Seattle. She was originally meant to meet with a vice-president who turned her down, although he did let her talk to James Cash Penney. Penney was convinced by her proposal and the Fairbanks store became one of her clients.

Milner sold the Alaska State Bank in 1969, upon the request of her fiance, Andy Milner. Andy was unhappy with the idea of his wife running a bank.

Politics and philanthropy
She donated $10,000 dollars to help restore the Pioneer School House, the first school building in Anchorage. She campaigned for Republican Wally Hickel when he ran for governor of Alaska, despite being a Democrat herself.