Lewis and Clark’s Walk With Harriet Haskell

 

 

Photo By Louise Jett ‎Taking a Walk with Harriet Haskell: A Historical Tour of Campus October 28, 2014
Photo By Louise Jett
‎Taking a Walk with Harriet Haskell: A Historical Tour of Campus
October 28, 2014
Darick T. Earney
Associate Editor

 

On Tuesday Nov. 4, Lewis and Clark had its very first history tour attraction, A Walk With Harriet. The tour was open to the public and provided information about L&C during the time it was formerly known as Monticello.

A Walk With Harriet took place from 2-4 p.m. and was hosted by Assistant Directors of Resource Services, Liz Burns and Greg Cash.

Leading the tour group, Burns and Cash not only provided information on Harriet Haskell herself, but also included a brief history of both Monticello and its founder, Benjamin Godfrey.

As tourists continued their walk, they observed several historical photos of the campus, and saw a live acting performance.

The live performance was a staged retelling of the 1888 Monticello College fire, told through the eyes of former student and survivor, Nora Dell Hathaway Whitney. Whitney was portrayed by L&C’s Linda Nevlin, and Hathaway herself would later become the inspiration for the Hathaway floor in L&C’s main building.

Tourists were also taken to what is now the office of Linda Chaplin, where there is a stained glass window in the room with the name “Lucy” engraved into it.

The name Lucy is in memory of Lucy Stewell, who was among one of the first to donate to Monticello in order to help rebuild after the 1888 fire.

The tour concluded with a visitation to the Evergreens building on campus. It was at the Evergreens that Harriet Haskell’s wooden chair recovered from the 1888 fire was on display for viewing.

There were also other historical pieces, such as a Bible, an old newspaper, and several portraits of teachers and former staff of Monticello. These items each served the purpose of giving the tourists an idea of how much the culture has changed from when it was Monticello, to now.

“We would like to thank Linda Nevlin for a dramatic presentation of Nora Dell Hathaway Whitney, and for making a tour of the evergreens possible,” Burns said.

Overall, the Walk With Harriet Haskell tour had received positive responses from those in attendance. Burns and Cash were excited by the turnout and are hoping to receive more attendees for possible future tours.

“We were very pleased with the turnout, especially to have so many numbers from the public. And we hope that everyone learned a little bit more about the history of Monticello,” Cash said.

For more on Harriet Haskell, visit http://www.altonhauntings.com/lewisclark.html.

 

Contact Darick at dearney@lc.edu

 

 

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