EXHIBITS
Ada Morrell Scrapbook Collection: Accomplishments
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[0] => HIST 3770 Spring 2017
[1] => no-show
[2] => student exhibit
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Preserving Noteworthy Accomplishments
George Woolf
Ada did not only collect genealogical and religious information, but also gathered newspaper articles, certificates and accounts of noteworthy accomplishments of family members. These items emphasize the connection Ada saw between family and community. In the case of George Woolf, her half cousin who was born in Canada and never lived in Cache Valley, Ada collected items such as a matchbook with his portrait and articles announcing his accomplishments as a jockey and highlighting his connection to Cache Valley.
Earl W. England
In Ada’s scrapbooks, most items relate to a person's basic biographical details. If there are items related to other accomplishments, many of them are about the male members of her family. In addition to George Woolf, Ada also had a number of items about State England born on the day Utah became a state and Earl W. England who joined the army as an aviation cadet in 1941.
Earl England’s service was not only a matter of family pride, but also community pride as some of his letters were reprinted in the local paper. In this scrapbook page, an article on Earl’s mission service is placed next to an article announcing that his joined the armed forces. The article on the far right is a letter detailing his first few weeks as a cadet and the strict and exacting rules he now lived under.
Ada England Morrell
For the women of Ada’s family, items of note included wedding and birth announcements along with a few mentions of women being called to serve missions. A woman's life seemed to be viewed mostly through the accomplishments of her children and as it pertained to her husband's public life.
However, Ada’s pride in her ancestry, along with a desire to preserve her accomplishments are seen in the collection of items related to her time as a member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneer (DUP) organization. Items she kept include her application, event tickets, newspaper articles, and a letter welcoming her as a county president. Ada was also licensed by the Church Board of Education as an instructor and chorister for religion classes. These items indicate that for many women, their accomplishement still centered around the family, whether that family had passed on or were still growing up, along with religious service.
Ada brought the accomplishments of relatives back home to Cache Valley through her collection. Her participation in DUP emphasized her role as a stewardess over her own family records and those of her community. Even as time and geography continued to distance family, Ada preserved ties through family research and record preservation, not only fulfilling a religious obligation or preserving items of family significance, but also placing individual family member’s accomplishments within the context of a larger family or communal group.
Created by Jessica Morrill