Marge and Frank Mullen were city kids, raised in Chicago where designated parks and the prospects of lifelong apartment rentals didn’t do enough to fulfill their love of nature and desire to build and farm and do for themselves. She’s such an inspiration for the way in which she’s lived her life, with a love of nature and real appreciation for what’s around here.” “I think it was that strength of spirit and her humbleness that have really inspired so many people to do a lot of things that I don’t think people could dream of doing today. She was the community because there wasn’t anybody else around,” Elliot said. “You don’t get a gold medal for being a really great homesteader, for having an adventurous spirit, for being a mover and shaker and being a community activist. She has to have other people out there blow it for her,” Elliot said. “She certainly doesn’t blow her own horn. Maybe so, countered Elliot, but the way she’s lived it has helped shape a community and create a legacy of activism, environmental stewardship and a spirit of doing what you can, when you can, where you can that continues to inspire future generations. She has just lived her life, Mullen said. “I felt I wasn’t very worthy next to those really great names there.” “I was really thrilled, but I don’t think my story held up against those others,” Mullen said. She said the ceremony was lovely and she was pleased to see so many deserving women be honored for the many great things they have done, especially the Native women, who often haven’t gotten the recognition they’ve deserved, Mullen said. Mullen, 90 this year, is a case in point. They just thought of themselves as common folks and were really able to make a difference.” They were just out there living good lives and seeing what needed be done in the realms of their strengths. “So many were the forces behind the scenes. “They couldn’t get up there and thank everybody else and say how they didn’t deserve to be in this august company, because every one of them was such a sterling example,” he said. “They were able to accomplish a lot, and I think that’s an inspiration to everyone,” said Nan Elliot, who nominated Soldotna homesteader Marge Mullen for the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame and attended the induction ceremony March 5 in Anchorage.Įlliot said she recommended to one of the organizers of the ceremony that, next year, they set some new modesty-limiting ground rules for the inductees when they are asked to say a few words. But as this year’s ceremony showed, receiving recognition is as foreign a concept to the 16 inductees of 2010 as shirking their work would have been. ![]() With the establishment of the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame in 2008, there is an avenue for recognizing those contributions. And so they did it, no matter the effort, sacrifices or lack of praise and overt appreciation involved. ![]() They made their contributions to the development and betterment of Alaska, its communities, its people and its culture in the same way they would knead a loaf of bread to feed their families or haul water to wash their clothes - it was simply something that needed to be done. Receiving accolades or redirecting attention from the men who often filled the spotlight of the state’s history is not what motivated Alaska’s pioneering women. There was no prize to act as incentive for advancing civil rights, being good stewards of the land or addressing the needs of those often overlooked by the powers that be. ![]() There was no plaque honoring achievements in building communities, establishing schools or preserving Native culture. She was recognized for founding the Kenai Peninsula Conservation Society, her preservation of local history and spirit of community activism.Ī half century ago, when Alaska’s history was still current events, there was no award for being a good homesteader. ![]() Soldotna homesteader Marge Mullen was inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame in early March, along with 15 other pioneering women. Photo courtesy of Wild North Photography.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |