Leave the Dishes in the Sink: Adventures of an Activist in Conservative Utah

Alison Thorne provides a small-town Utah perspective on the progressive social movements that in the mid to late twentieth century dramatically affected American society. A born activist, Thorne has fought for women\u27s rights, educational reform in public schools and universities, the environment, peace, and the war on poverty. Her efforts have been all the more challenging because of the conservative social and cultural environment in which she has undertaken them. Yet, Thorne, who has deep personal and familial roots in the politically conservative and predominantly Mormon culture of Utah and much of the West, has worked well with people with varied political and social perspectives and agendas. She has been able to establish effective coalitions in contexts that seem inherently hostile. She demonstrated this through her election to the local school board and through her appointment by both Republican and Democratic governors, eventually as chair, to the statewide Governor\u27s Committee on the Status of Women. Alison Thorne\u27s background prepared her to challenge restrictive social contexts, see the broader picture, and encourage progressive change. Educated in the field of consumption economics, which studies those aspects of consumption that operate outside the market system, especially government services and unpaid household production, primarily by women, she received a Ph.D. in economics after graduate study at the University of Chicago and Iowa State, a first for a woman at the latter. Moving with her husband after he was hired at Utah State University, she soon discovered that her education and abilities were undervalued and that tight nepotism rules kept her out of an academic position. She devoted herself to research and writing about alternatives to the narrow definitions of a housewife\u27s role and duties prevalent in the 1940s and 1950s. Both her scholarly work and her personal inclinations prepared her for the emergence of the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. Her participation in the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment honed her skills as an activist, which she applied to multiple other causes. But Alison Thorne\u27s style has never been mere protest of injustice; she has always been fully engaged with her communities, directly working for social change and betterment. Rather than be discouraged by initial rejection, she found ways to contribute to education on the USU campus, eventually achieved academic standing, and helped create women\u27s studies programs and a women\u27s center. She met other challenges in her city and state similarly, by taking her gloves off, reaching out to others, building coalitions, and getting to work.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/1018/thumbnail.jp

Leave the Dishes in the Sink: Adventures of an Activist in Conservative Utah

Alison Thorne provides a small-town Utah perspective on the progressive social movements that in the mid to late twentieth century dramatically affected American society. A born activist, Thorne has fought for women's rights, educational reform in public schools and universities, the environment, peace, and the war on poverty. Her efforts have been all the more challenging because of the conservative social and cultural environment in which she has undertaken them. Yet, Thorne, who has deep personal and familial roots in the politically conservative and predominantly Mormon culture of Utah and much of the West, has worked well with people with varied political and social perspectives and agendas. She has been able to establish effective coalitions in contexts that seem inherently hostile. She demonstrated this through her election to the local school board and through her appointment by both Republican and Democratic governors, eventually as chair, to the statewide Governor's Committee on the Status of Women. Alison Thorne's background prepared her to challenge restrictive social contexts, see the broader picture, and encourage progressive change. Educated in the field of consumption economics, which studies those aspects of consumption that operate outside the market system, especially government services and unpaid household production, primarily by women, she received a Ph.D. in economics after graduate study at the University of Chicago and Iowa State, a first for a woman at the latter. Moving with her husband after he was hired at Utah State University, she soon discovered that her education and abilities were undervalued and that tight nepotism rules kept her out of an academic position. She devoted herself to research and writing about alternatives to the narrow definitions of a housewife's role and duties prevalent in the 1940s and 1950s. Both her scholarly work and her personal inclinations prepared her for the emergence of the second wave of feminism in the 1960s. Her participation in the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment honed her skills as an activist, which she applied to multiple other causes. But Alison Thorne's style has never been mere protest of injustice; she has always been fully engaged with her communities, directly working for social change and betterment. Rather than be discouraged by initial rejection, she found ways to contribute to education on the USU campus, eventually achieved academic standing, and helped create women's studies programs and a women's center. She met other challenges in her city and state similarly, by taking her gloves off, reaching out to others, building coalitions, and getting to work

Visible and Invisible Women in Land-Grant Colleges, 1890-1940

The role and status of women in land-grant colleges has not really been studied. As many of these institutions have approached their centennials and have reflected on their past achievements, the lack of research about women faculty, women students, women staff, and faculty wives has been astounding. In part, our misperceptions or ignorance concerning women in this institutional setting is understandable. Like many women in other historical milieus, women at land-grant institutions have been invisible. Because they were rarely administrators, because they composed such a small part of the faculty, and often because of the discipline in which they taught, their contributions have been obscured. They left few clear traces of their roles and achievements in the institutional records. This Lecture is an attempt to redress that balance and reclaim the details of women\u27s experiences with land-grant institution

Letter dated 7 October 1973 from Wynne and Alison Thorne to Lorenzo and Zilla Richards

Letter dated 7 October 1973 from Wynne and Alison Thorne to Lorenzo and Zilla Richards, responding to Lorenzo's note of 25 September 1973 regarding not making contact when they were in Logan; Alison typed the response and Wynne added handwritten note; both were faculty at Utah State University%5 E. 3rd North Logan, Utah 8^321 Oct. ?, 1973 Dear Ren and Zilla, Ae were sorry to have missed you when you came. Dave and Allie said you had been here, and there was also a note in the newspaper that you had made a donation of books to the USU library. I was at park City for three days attending a conference on Family Values; a tremendous conference. All the necessary top people of the state were there; it was a Governor's conference, and timed well apparently. Wynne in the attached note will tell where he went. 7e both hope you will be coming up again in that fancy traveling home, so we can visit with you. Jean Sandberg, Wynne's secretary, went with us to Farmington the other day to see the chrysanthemum display and attend the opening of the new visitor center (financed by exp. station funds) and I had rot known till she told me that you are relatives. She is a marvelous person. Our fall colors this year have been out of this world; such vivid reds and oranges and golds, all at once somehow, in Logan Csnyon and over Uellsville Canyon. Were you too early to see them? Come again! -AA&UAALJ •LTTY* 'Ab-rty yy*y*bc^ >*-t_J 7 [XyAL iyTLf-AKA A^yT^yyyz. J(^AA^yiyy) ^J CYAZAAO- /•TAyX ^Oty j/ ) „ &_ 7uy -^ c^AyyA-y^**^ 77 's Qyfyfyy* jLA^^y^^yT^y^^^y^. ° yyf, 3 &A*^-f ^t \ZyTbAU C*Ayy^Ay^AAb ^"WS cfAAy /W P^A /ttU*rlAiy\ jtgyis^At& y^tyy (AAS^-yY* ^(17777777^ C<~J^ cryYf 7- Yiyis, *y-**A'cOAz*^-*^?-%y & ^^27777^,-^^ O^Y/TTyo-A ^^ACyly OUs\ <~*y. ASi^&*Ay yis?^-*-y

Letter date 11 April [year not given, possibly 1972] from "Allie and Dave" [Thorne] to Zilla and Lorenzo A. Richards

Letter dated Tuesday, 11 April [year not given, but possibly 1972 or 1978] from "Allie and Dave" (Allison C. and David Wynne Thorne of Utah State University) to Zilla and Lorenzo A. Richards, thanking them for attending a "testimonial" on Friday, March 31 for DaveTuesday, April 11th. Dear Zilla and Ren, We had hoped for a visit from you on Saturday, as of necessity Friday evening we did not get to check on your children, etc. We did appreciate your coming up to the testi­monial for Dave. It was an evening we shall long remember. It seems impossible that 11 days have slipped by since March 31st. Thank goodness Dave hail been good and busy. He says being home, makes him feel like a truant. Thank you for the beautiful camellias, we stil! have three of them in a bouquet. A special thanks for your good letter, your part in the T.V. and the bouquei of red roses. We get excellent reception. We watched the Academy Awards pijgram last evening. The roses lasted until last Saturday. A letter from Margaret said that they would be in New York City 10-11-12, staying at the Taft Hotel, on Times Square. Matt had meetings and Margaret was vacationing. We had rain this morning, in fact almost snow, and more is promised for this afternoon and tonight. We have had some cold nights, and apparently the apricots are hurt again. Forgive my typing this letter and being so tardy, right now I am battling arthritis in my fingers Do come again soon, and next time plan on a longer visit, and eathing lunch with us, even if it is in the kitchen. Our best wishes to you, 7/ky Q _ TyMI Xs -**y U^y