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Exhibit will honor Henry L. Talkington
LEWISTON, Idaho - Just in time for commencement, historian Mary Reed and student artist Noah Schuerman will install the first of two permanent exhibits honoring one of the most popular instructors ever to teach on what is now the Lewis-Clark State College campus. In his day he was also the most famous, having founded what was then the state's most important museum of history, pioneered innovative teaching methods, and written a key textbook on the teaching of history. His name was Henry Leonidas Talkington, and the exhibit will be installed in the building that bears his name.
Among many other things, Talkington was also the school's first librarian and the superintendent of its first men's dormitory.
"We want people to know who he was, what he accomplished, and to understand the significant contributions he made to the college and the state of Idaho," said Kathy Martin, Dean of Community Programs, who co-chaired a committee last year to decide the fate of the remnants of the college's Talkington Collection.
With the exception of a very few items the college retained for the purposes of creating the new exhibits, the committee proposed that the college donate what remained of the collection of historical objects to the Nez Perce County Historical Society, which it did. Even before that, the museum had acquired many of its most important items from Talkington's museum collection, which the State of Idaho purchased from Talkington in 1939 after forcing him to retire at age 77.
"The campus and community were shocked at his dismissal," historian Mary Reed notes in the text for the exhibit, which includes fifteen photographs and a history of dormitory life at the Lewiston school. "Henry Talkington was a man of great prestige and importance to the college," Reed said on Wednesday, prior to her campus visit from her home in Pullman. She plans to spend the summer working on the second exhibit, which is planned for installation in the Student Union Building next fall. At that time, project plans call for Reed and historian Steven Branting to dedicate the second exhibit with a formal talk and lecture.
"We're very excited to host the first of the two permanent exhibits in Talkington Hall," said Debbie Kolstad, LCSC Director of Residence Life. "We especially appreciate the help with funding from the Idaho State Historical Society, which paid for the beautiful glass case, and the Idaho Humanities Council, which funded Mary Reed's research."
For more information contact Dr. James R. Hepworth at hepworth@lcsc.edu or 208.792.2316
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