Megan Haaga, Class of 2015, is a senior gender studies major and English minor who specializes in queer archiving. She has worked at the Mount Holyoke Archives for two years, and did research on notable alumnae of color in Spring 2014 for a Hortense Parker Day gallery exhibit. She has also interned at the Sexual Minorities Archive in Northampton, MA, and the Lesbian Herstory Archive in Brooklyn, NY. Megan transcribed the selected Marks and Woolley letters, and conducted research on their lives and relationship. She hopes that the physical and online exhibits will lead to increased knowledge about both women, and make their wonderful correspondence accessible to all!
Jennie Ochterski, Class of 2015, is a senior gender studies major with an interest in queer theory and feminist theologies. She has worked in the Archives for two years, focusing primarily on hidden histories of student activism at Mount Holyoke College. For this exhibit, Jennie helped select specific letters that showcase the nuances of Marks’ and Woolley’s relationship, as well as physical objects that aid in situating that relationship in time and place. She looks forward to increased campus conversation stemming from this exhibit around male leadership, women loving women, and the importance of archived correspondence!
Caroline Palmer, Class of 2015, is a senior gender studies and sociology student at Mount Holyoke. She helped to compile biographical information and structure the framework of this exhibit while working in the Archives and Special Collections as a summer research assistant in 2014. Her interest in the lives of Mary Woolley and Jeannette Marks has led to class projects, final papers, and capstone senior work dedicated to the pair. Professors and friends have begun to insist that she write a book about the subject, solely because she talks about it so much in class.