CENTERVILLE—The Whitaker Museum is working on a project to collect, archive, and celebrate the historic contributions of Centerville’s women.

“Part of the museum’s mission is to keep our stories alive,” said museum intern and project lead Fawn McArthur. “And in keeping the women’s stories alive, we keep everyone’s story alive for Centerville... it’s important to remember that women’s stories matter as well, and women were the ones who helped shape Centerville as well.”

The museum currently has many histories of former Centerville residents, but they are largely focused on the men who contributed to the community, McArthur said.

This project is a direct effort to fill that gap in the historical record, which museum director Lisa Lin Sommer recognized as having a strong emphasis on men’s stories. McArthur explained that existing archives often dedicate only “little snippets” to women unless they achieved high-profile accomplishments like Elizabeth Whitaker. To rectify this, the museum is gathering information about the previously underrepresented stories of local women.

The project was officially launched at the city’s July 4 festivities, where the Whitaker hosted a booth. As part of that launch, the museum worked up profiles of three women initially highlighted as examples of “extraordinary things” which they shared with the public:

Elizabeth Whitaker, for her contributions to the Whitaker home/area.

Myrtle Butler, a Centerville nurse who volunteered in France during World War I.

Evelyn Pack Engen, a significant contributor to Utah’s ski culture alongside her husband, Alf Engen.

Following the launch, the museum held a full-day story collecting event on Sept. 26 at Centerville City Hall. A steady flow of people stopped by to share family stories, family histories and artifacts, including old literary club minutes dating back to 1938. Volunteers were on hand to gather the information and record personal stories on their phones.

The project aims to gather enough material and artifacts to host an exhibit in March for Women’s History Month. Along with detailed exhibits on specific women, McArthur hopes to include accounts of the daily life and everyday experiences of Centerville’s pioneering female forbearers.

“Often if women aren’t accomplishing big things... just kind of the everyday things that they did to build up Centerville as a community kind of get written off as mundane and unimportant,” she said. “So the hope is to also kind of help the community realize that those stories are worth preserving as well. And those stories are also what really helped Centerville become what it is today.”

The museum plans to include objects and tactile experiences for visitors to help bring these women’s lives to life. Local residents who would like to share information about their ancestors or family members should contact the museum directly for more information on how to contribute.