Sunday, March 26, 2000

Exhibit extols contributions of women

"My grandmother has always made her meals by hand. Before she starts her meals there is that tortilla which goes with anything that she makes. There is no special ingredient. However, all of us grandchildren would almost kill each other for that first fresh tortilla from the comal.
   "This first tortilla is not like the others; it's crunchy and warm. I have timed this process out to the exact minute when Grandma Nata puts the tortilla on the table. First one side gets the sizzle, then the other side."
   -- Excerpt, "Tortillas," by James Vasquez
  
   Women who've made significant contributions to society or their professional fields traditionally have been the focus of celebration during Women's History Month. But there is another type of community in which a woman's influence is powerful and extraordinary, although often overlooked.
   A one-day exhibit, "Telling Our Grandmothers' Stories," explores the community of family, enabling university students like Vasquez to rediscover and pay tribute to the matriarchs of their past.
   The exhibit is sponsored by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Women's Center for Education and Service, the Dean of Students' Office and the Allyn and Bacon book publishing company. The exhibit includes the literary works of 40 participants and will be on display from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday during a meet-the-authors reception at the University Center, Oso Room 221.
   Preserving the stories
   "These women's stories rarely fit the linear tradition of history and storytelling," said Susan Loudermilk, a visiting assistant professor of English at the university and event chairwoman. "Based on my own experience gathering my grandmother's story, I realized that these stories aren't included or not told in a way that adequately represents their rich experiences.
   "We must see to it that these stories aren't lost and by telling them in this way, I see it as a way of broadening the American literary and historical canons."
   In "A Woman Forgotten," April Annette Chaney muses over her great-grandmother's portrait at 17.
   "What strikes me the most is her hair, which is a rich shade of red and piled high atop her head with soft curls framing her oval face," Chaney wrote. "Her cheekbones are high and are sculpted to reveal the woman emerging. Although the artist may have flattered her some in the picture, I am certain she was quite the belle in her day."
   Letter to an ancestor
   The exhibit also includes a copy of a letter written in 1865 by Mrs. Rose Ellen Ritchie Dryden to her parents. In it, Dryden details her experiences in Texas during her husband's Civil War military service. Dryden's descendant, university student Jennifer L. Snyder, in turn wrote a letter to her deceased ancestor, which also is part of the exhibit.
   "It may seem rather strange for a person of my time to learn anything from a person of your time, but you would be surprised where you find your inspiration," Snyder wrote. "It just so happens I found some of mine in a letter that is over 135 years old. Great Grandma Dryden, you might not have changed the world, but you changed my life. And changing a person's life is a blessing."
   For information about the exhibit and reception, call Loudermilk at 825-2483 or the Women's Center at 825-2792.
  
 

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