Given this weekend's festivities, I thought I would share with you all the brief biography I submitted with Dorothy's nomination to the Esto Perpetua selection committee. Dorothy is a truly remarkable woman, and I enjoyed the opportunity to tell the folks at ISHS why she is so great!
"I
first met Dorothy Anderson just three days into my tenure as Museum Curator at
Latah County Historical Society. It was
an unseasonably hot June afternoon, and Earl Bennett’s Bovill Run was making a
final stop on the north county historical bus tour in downtown Troy. We were greeted by Dorothy’s friendly face,
protected by a broad sunbonnet, and her infectious enthusiasm for her
community’s history. As we began our
walking tour of Troy’s commercial district, Dorothy’s insightful and entertaining
narrative chronicled the development of the town and helped me forget about the
oppressive heat.
"Just
a few weeks later I had the good fortune of making Dorothy’s acquaintance more
formally when she visited our archives in Moscow to do research. I learned that Dorothy moved to Troy in 1944
as a high school student when her parents bought the local newspaper. In subsequent conversations Dorothy recounted
feeling a little sad about leaving her friends in Wyoming to move to the rather
remote north Idaho town; those feelings, however, soon passed. Dorothy has been a resident and booster of
Troy ever since. After marrying her
husband Ellis, a native son of Troy, Dorothy attended the University of Idaho
to become a teacher. She spent 26 years
with the Troy School District, and it was in this capacity that Dorothy began
her campaign to preserve Troy’s history.
"It
all began, she said, when she and few colleagues in the elementary school
realized the need for a local public library.
As a committee formed in the early-1990s to raise money for a new
library space, Dorothy and her husband were also quite active in the formation
of a group that would plan Troy’s centennial celebration. Of course many of the people interested in
creating a space for community members to share knowledge were the same
individuals who wanted to preserve Troy’s history. Before long Dorothy found herself the leader
of a fledgling Troy Historical Society, a role she has been dedicated to for
nearly two decades.
"Dorothy’s
list of contributions to the preservation of Troy’s cultural heritage is
impressive. She served on the Centennial
Committee, celebrated in 1992, and no doubt sparked a passion for history in
many young Troy residents when she involved her students in collecting oral
history accounts from local business owners.
From the gathered information, Dorothy pieced together the history of
many of the buildings that make Troy’s downtown such a beautiful example of a
19th-century western town. In
turn, these building histories were used to nominate several structures to the
National Register of Historic Places. As
is the case in many communities, some property owners pushed back against the
idea, believing that designation would infringe upon their rights. It was Dorothy who bridged the gap between
the preservationists and the owners. Her
personal touch, reinforced by her credibility as a long-time resident, went a
long way to allay apprehensions among business owners. With the hard-won blessing of the owners,
many of the nominations went on to be successfully accepted to the National
Register. You can guess who worked on
the attractive signage that now adorns each historic building.
"Another
of Dorothy’s accomplishments was organizing the 1995 All School Get-Together, a
reunion for all past attendees of schools in Troy and the immediately outlying
areas. She recounted to me that the
motivation behind such an all-encompassing event was to provide a reunion for
all the men and women who did not get to attend high school, instead going to
work after the 8th grade.
Inclusivity characterizes much of Dorothy’s work. When she took on the important task of
documenting experiences of locals who attended the now vanished rural schools
around Troy, she again turned to her students.
Not only did she collect incredibly valuable primary accounts of one-room
schoolhouse life, she also engaged the next generation of residents in their
local heritage. Moreover, she and her
husband Ellis went on to create a 1/12th scale replica of the county
school at Burnt Ridge, based on those collected oral histories, that has been
enjoyed by residents of Troy and the county as a whole.
"Under
the expert guidance of Dorothy, the Troy Historical Society has produced a
number of invaluable resources. “Troy,
Idaho: A Historical Walking Tour” provides visitors and residents alike with
all the information necessary to appreciate the historic structures of the
town. The pamphlet is second only to a
guided tour by Dorothy herself, a proclamation I can make based on personal
experience. Indeed Dorothy makes herself
available for any school class, historical commission, church group, or scout
troupe that inquires. Members of the
Idaho State Historical Society Board of Trustees might remember meeting Dorothy
on one such tour a few years ago, when they lunched in Troy at Herman
Ronnenberg’s home. Dorothy also edited
and narrated a wonderful video released by the Troy Historical Society entitled
Yesterday, Vol. 1, which provides
audiences with an overview of the town’s rich history. Additionally, every year the society produces
an exhibit for Troy Old Timers’ Day.
That is, in fact, the occasion that brought Dorothy into my office last
summer. The 2013 exhibit, which
consisted of informational posters displayed throughout downtown Troy, related
the history of many local businesses.
While the Troy Historical Society has done a terrific job preserving
photos and documents on their own, the organization continues to collaborate
with other heritage groups like our county historical society to improve their
programming and enrich our shared knowledge.
I was happy to contribute some of our original photographs to her
exhibit, as any partnership between our organizations surely benefits all of
us.
"The
good work of the Troy Historical Society is especially noteworthy because the
group has achieved so much with limited resources. Although the group lacks a traditional museum
space and does not own any storage facility of its own, Dorothy and her
colleagues have made a significant commitment to preserving local history. Admirably, Dorothy has sought out the advice
of local and state resources. Keith
Peterson of ISHS and Mary Reed of the Idaho Association of Museums have both
been invited by Dorothy to consult on future plans for the organization, and
Latah County Historical Society has been approached for technical support as
well. Dorothy’s relationship with a
prominent family in the community, the Brockes, helped the Troy Historical
Society secure a safe space for the storage of archival materials at a local
bank. While a member’s basement might
have proven a more convenient location, Dorothy pursued a solution that would
protect the resources from potential dangers such as flooding or fire. An ultimately unsuccessful bid to purchase or
lease part of the original Troy High School building for the Historical Society
has not deterred Dorothy for identifying venues in which to tell the community’s
unique story.
"As
a relative newcomer to north Idaho, I have a lot to learn about the history of
this wonderful region. Thank goodness
for people like Dorothy, who happily answer my questions, no matter how
naive. Her patience and willingness to
explain events or describe people seems endless, and truly, I could listen to
her wonderful stories for hours. She has
further demonstrated her commitment to educating others by agreeing to serve as
Troy’s official City Historian, a program that the Latah County Historical
Society supports.
"Dorothy
tells me that even as a child, she knew the importance of history. An interest in how other people built their
lives motivates her projects and an appreciation for other cultures, past and
present, continues to inspire her curiosity.
Given Dorothy’s long list of accomplishments, it is clear that she is a
lover of history and just as importantly, a lover of Troy."
We created an Oral History from Ellis and Dorothy in 2008. This can be listened to at White Spring Ranch Museum and will have it online soon at www.WhiteSpringRanch.org
ReplyDelete