First of all, an apology to my friend, Sammie Morris: I know this photo is years out of date, but I love it because it shows you in action!
I met Sammie about 10 years ago, shortly after she arrived in town. I will be forever in debt to Sammie and Blythe for introducing me to Karen (ask me--I'll tell you the story of the "light fling").
I work in a library, and I have a soft spot for librarians. But I admit I'd never given much thought about "Special Collection Libraries" or the work of archivists--hadn't thought about it, that is, until I met Sammie.
Sammie is the head of Purdue Archives and Special Collections. She's responsible for maintaining things like Amelia Earhart's personal papers and flight jacket and photos (see one below) and Neil Armstrong's personal papers. She goes out, meets with and talks to alumni about donating their papers to Purdue; in particular, she talks to women who have been at Purdue, and have asked them to donate their items to the Susan Bulkeley Butler Women's Archives at Purdue--the list of women who have donated is amazing!
When I wrote about my friend, Angie Klink, I spoke about the importance of preserving the stories of women in the past. Angie has done a great job of telling us about local women in history; part of the reason her stories come alive is due to the diligent work of people like Sammie, who make sure "history" is preserved in a safe place, and yet is accessible, so people can see, learn, and understand what the past was really like.
Often, when a country is at war, the first thing that's destroyed or pilfered is their museums and libraries. Or, if you want to deliver a blow to a certain segment of your own society, you burn their books. Either way, you destroy their past and force them to embrace yours. Future generations are ignorant about their true history, and believe lies like, "There are no famous women in history," or "Marriage has always been between one man and one woman." My "favorite" lie is, "The Church has always been against abortion."--this is a blatant lie, and we know that because we have historical documents which prove that, prior to 1869, the Catholic churches' stand was much different.
So, thank you, Sammie Morris! Thank you for preserving our history for us, and for future generations.
I work in a library, and I have a soft spot for librarians. But I admit I'd never given much thought about "Special Collection Libraries" or the work of archivists--hadn't thought about it, that is, until I met Sammie.
Sammie is the head of Purdue Archives and Special Collections. She's responsible for maintaining things like Amelia Earhart's personal papers and flight jacket and photos (see one below) and Neil Armstrong's personal papers. She goes out, meets with and talks to alumni about donating their papers to Purdue; in particular, she talks to women who have been at Purdue, and have asked them to donate their items to the Susan Bulkeley Butler Women's Archives at Purdue--the list of women who have donated is amazing!
When I wrote about my friend, Angie Klink, I spoke about the importance of preserving the stories of women in the past. Angie has done a great job of telling us about local women in history; part of the reason her stories come alive is due to the diligent work of people like Sammie, who make sure "history" is preserved in a safe place, and yet is accessible, so people can see, learn, and understand what the past was really like.Often, when a country is at war, the first thing that's destroyed or pilfered is their museums and libraries. Or, if you want to deliver a blow to a certain segment of your own society, you burn their books. Either way, you destroy their past and force them to embrace yours. Future generations are ignorant about their true history, and believe lies like, "There are no famous women in history," or "Marriage has always been between one man and one woman." My "favorite" lie is, "The Church has always been against abortion."--this is a blatant lie, and we know that because we have historical documents which prove that, prior to 1869, the Catholic churches' stand was much different.
So, thank you, Sammie Morris! Thank you for preserving our history for us, and for future generations.
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