Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
This little blue suitcase has sat quiety in the corner of the Eddy County Museum for many years. I had never noticed it before-not in person or in the archival database. I just had to know what was inside...
Inside- a variety of organizational items pertaining to The Pioneer Daughters, a club that was dedicated to the documentation and education of settler life.
It never fails. Every time I step into one of the buildings at the Eddy County Museum, I notice something for the very first time.
Not long ago, I stopped into the Dodd's schoolhouse, like I often do. For whatever reason, I took note of a blue suitcase just inside the closet. I had never noticed it before, and I was sure I had never seen the contents. In fact, it has never been listed in the growing catalog of nearly 3,000 objects, photos and book regarding Eddy County's peoples and history.
I looked at that suitcase a long time before I gave into the urge to open it. Whatever might be in there had the potential to be a giant rabbit hole. Whatever it might be, I could not allow myself to dig in too deep.
I opened it cautiously and found a collection of documents belonging to the Pioneer Daughters of North Dakota. Detailed notes included an index of the documents. This list included a series of scrapbooks dating from 1961 to 1984.
According to the constitution and bylaws, the club was exclusive to women who were direct descendants of women who where married and settled in North Dakota prior to statehood. Through the Pioneer Daughters, members worked to honor the memory and spirit of the women who pioneered North Dakota, and to promote the historic resources and activities of the state.
A quick glance in the folder labeled "Pioneer Histories" was all I could afford. You see, those histories were typed stories about names I'd recognized, faces I'd seen in the museum's photo collections. I had no choice but to pack away all the items. There was a good 75 hours of archival work there- it would have to wait for another day.
As an archivist, its humbling to see someone else's work left untouched - literally shelved - for nearly 40 years. It makes me realize that this kind of work is bigger than the people doing it. There's always new information, new connections, and new pieces to the puzzle.
