September 17, 2022

A new exhibit, “In Their Own Words: Celebrating the National Women and Media Collection,” is on display at the State Historical Society of Missouri. The collection is celebrating its 35th anniversary with an exhibit featuring diaries, photos, letters, and interviews from the National Women and Media Collection, established at the State Historical Society in 1987. The 92-foot-long exhibit covers the collection’s history of women in journalism from the 1800s to the 1990s.

The public is invited to an opening reception for the exhibition Wednesday, Sept. 7, 4-6 p.m. at the Center for Missouri Studies, headquarters of the State Historical Society of Missouri.

“Interest in the National Women and Media Collection comes from all over the world. We have had research requests from as far away as Australia and Europe,” said Elizabeth Engel, senior archivist for the State Historical Society and manager of the collection. “By drawing attention to the anniversary with a large-scale display, we hope the collection will grow and be supported by the voices of additional women in the media today and in the future.”

In Their Own Words showcases important female voices in media, such as Kay Mills, Jean Gaddy Wilson, Marjorie Paxson, Rose Nolen, Tad Bartimus, Christine Craft, Mary Paxton Keeley, Lucile Bluford, Dorothy Jurney and others. Visitors will learn of their struggles and triumphs in the media industry and how these journalists were able to navigate careers in a traditionally male-dominated profession. The collection contains the records of media organizations and the professional and personal papers of notable women who worked as reporters, editors, publishers, press secretaries and other positions in the print and broadcast media industries.

Visitors can see the exhibit through Dec. 23, 2022, during regular visitor hours at the State Historical Society of Missouri. The exhibit is located on the second floor in the Wenneker Family Corridor Gallery, SHSMO Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm Street, Columbia, MO 65201.

Additional public events, related to the collection’s 35th anniversary, are posted on the Society’s calendar at SHSMO.org.