Peninsula conservationist enters hall of famePublished on March 11th, 2010 By ALASKA NEWSPAPERS STAFF
Marge Mullen speaks during her induction to the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame on Friday. (Beth Skabar, Alaska Newspapers) Marge Mullen, the founder of the Kenai Peninsula Conservation Society, is among the inductees into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame this year. The 16 women were honored last week during a ceremony at the BP Energy Center in Anchorage. This was the second year for hall of fame inductions, which celebrate women who have made lasting contributions to life in the state. The hall of fame offers the following biography of Mullen: "A city girl from Chicago, Marge walked 65 miles through the wilderness to stake a homestead on Soldotna Creek near the Kenai River. She is the first woman to live in Soldotna under the Homestead Act in1947. As a young wife and mother making her home in a log cabin on Soldotna Creek in 1947, Marge learned many skills she never dreamed of as a child in Chicago. Living without a grocery store meant that she would have to learn to hunt, catch, grow and preserve the family food. "Inspired by the first Earth Day, Marge organized the first roadside litter pickup in 1970. She also served as a member and chair of the local planning commission. With her hiking "buddies" (most of who were male), Marge organized the Kenai Peninsula Conservation Society and served a term as its president in the 1980s. "Today, Marge is unofficial historian for Soldotna. She has archived over 1,000 photos at Kenai Peninsula College. She chairs the local historical society and coordinates activities at the town's Homestead Museum. She brings a digital slide show, a charming wit and her vast knowledge of the early days to the local speaker circuit. "Marge, now in her ninetieth year, still takes a brisk walk daily and is a continuing inspiration for generations of local women as she actively maintains her health and her connections with her family and community. Marge continues to reside in the community she helped to build and where she raised her four children." The other women inducted into the hall of fame this year are: Alberta Schenck Adams, Alice Brown, Nora Dauenhauer, Bettye Davis, Shirley Holloway, Hazel Heath, Marlene Johnson, Georgianna Lincoln, Ethel Lund, Helen Nienhueser, Jo Scott, Tay Thomas, Peg Tileston, Elizabeth Ann "Besty" Tower, Virginia "Ginny" Woods. For more on the hall of fame, go to http://alaskawomenshalloffame.org/ Alaska Newspapers Staff can be reached at editor@alaskanewspapers.com |
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The Seward Phoenix LOG is a publication of Alaska Newspapers, Inc. This article is © 2010 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Newspapers, Inc. makes no provisions for further distribution.