LEGACIES - Utah Women's Walk

The purpose of the Utah Women’s Walk is to recognize and show gratitude for the lives of notable women who have made significant contributions to life in the state of Utah over the past one hundred and fifty years. The intention of this project is to educate the public about the remarkable lives of Utah women and to uplift, inspire, and motivate other women to reach for their highest potential. The Utah Women’s Walk is also meant to encourage appreciation for the variety of work in which Utah women are engaged and to demonstrate the cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity in our state. Research for this project originated with the completion of a master’s thesis by Michele Welch in 2007, under the direction of Dr. Jan Roush and Dr. Melody Graulich at Utah State University. Currently, the project is underway with students in an American Studies course at Utah Valley University. Students are currently interviewing, researching, and writing about the lives of significant Utah women that most inspire them. On completion, biographies, recordings, and transcriptions of the interviews will be housed in the George Sutherland Archives at Utah Valley University.

Origin

On the last day of completing my finals at Brigham Young University in April of 2001, I wanted to do something special to commemorate my completion of an undergraduate degree in Humanities. I called my niece, Hilary, to walk through the newly completed Thanksgiving Point Garden in Lehi, Utah to celebrate this special day. Hilary and I spent a very enjoyable time reminiscing about her mother, Rebecca who had passed away from cancer five years earlier, when Hilary was only eight years old. It is hard to describe the uplifting experience we had in words—it was not just a time of celebration, it was a significant experience of enjoying the beauties of nature and sharing information with Hilary about her remarkable mother. Together the walk provided us an educational, motivating, inspirational, and healing experience not long forgotten. Shortly afterwards, I read an article in Good Housekeeping about a New Jersey Senator, Diane Allen, who was spearheading legislation to develop a “New Jersey’s Women’s Heritage Trail” commemorating the contributions of women to the history of their state. Since that time I have become aware of other projects such as the “Boston Women’s Heritage Trail,” which honors the important work of women in Massachusetts. The Boston exhibit highlights household names such as Abigail Adams, Amelia Earhart, and Rose Kennedy, while other designated women are much less familiar. Similarly, the University of Portland recently opened an exhibit on their campus called “Walk of the Heroines.” Over the course of nearly 20 years, the uplifting garden walk with my niece has developed into a viable and important future exhibit whereby many can enjoy and learn about Utah women. –Michele A. Welch

Garden Walk

On September 16, 2017 Utah Women’s Walk opened a garden walk exhibit at Thanksgiving Point as a way of honoring the women of Utah. The opening included a welcome by Jeanette Herbert, remarks by Utah Valley University President Matthew Holland, and the One Voice Children’s Choir. The centerpiece statue Connexion, commissioned by Utah Woman’s Walk, is representative of the diversity of culture, ethnicity, racial, and age of the women of Utah. It also depicts women lifting and supporting one another as they navigate through their personal experiences. Connexion is the only standing exhibit recognizing the collective influence of women who have powerfully shaped Utah’s unique and cherished heritage.

“I’ve learned that people forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou

Thanksgiving Point welcomes over 200,000 guests each year to their gardens. As guests visit the exhibit they will be able to access, on a mobile device, abbreviated video interviews of Utah Woman’s Walk honorees. Guests who would like more information will be directed to the full transcript and video of the interview in the Utah Valley University George Sutherland Archives, accessed through the Utah Woman’s Walk website. We envision the garden walk to be a place of healing, learning, and appreciation. Tens of thousands will have the opportunity to walk the exhibit, read and hear the stories of these tremendous women. The story of Utah women is the greatest story never told.

Research

Research for the Utah Women’s Walk will be based primarily on personal interviews with nominees whenever possible and rely on secondary resources as needed, for example, in the case that a nominee is deceased. Biographies written by others may also be submitted and should be no longer than 1,500 words or five typed pages. Transcripts of the interviews and final biographies will be kept in the George Sutherland Archives at Utah Valley University. Selection of women featured in the garden will reflect a wide variety of accomplishments by women who have made notable contributions in their field of expertise and have had significant influence on the lives of others both inside and outside of the state. The women chosen will reflect the diversity of the state of Utah based on modern demographic studies and, where possible, will represent all geographic regions of Utah.