A Tribute to Velma Morrison, 2013 Velma Vivian Morrison will always be remembered as one of Boise’s most dedicated philanthropists and avid supporter of the arts. She has left an indelible mark on our community which will forever serve as a reminder of one woman’s legacy, and now, the celebration of her life. In her memoir Velma Morrison remembers the 1930s, one of the bleakest periods of American history, fondly. Although times were tough she had the support of her family who were always willing to give, and her father’s optimistic character forever shaped the drive and outlook of a woman who would spend the rest of her years unrelenting in the service of her family and community. Born in 1920, her parents later divorced and her father raised their three children on the Mitchell family farm in Tipton, California. During the Great Depression the farm fed the family, and sometimes up to 40 others who had come west during the Dust Bowl. The Mitchells set up a number of tents to house and feed itinerant families who were in need while they looked for work and helped around the farm.[1] Not surprisingly, Velma’s family continued to play an important role in her life, and she continued to maintain an important connection to her parents and siblings and their extended families. Her story shows that she was a woman who had experience at seizing opportunities and blazing a path of her own. She explored new frontiers in many senses; one of her first experiences as a young divorcee was a trip to Nome, Alaska, years before the United States acquired it. A frontier in the truest sense. And then later, as a working woman, a telephone operator in her young years, and then as a journeyman boilermaker with experience welding WWII ships at the docks in Richmond, California. In the post-war years Velma joined her family in a ‘wild harvest’ caravan, passing from state to state following the work in travel trailers. When they returned to California after the harvest Velma opened a cafe with her sister Melva 12 miles from their home on the family farm. An experienced businesswoman and single mother of three children, Velma came to own her own restaurant, where she met Mr. Morrison. In many instances her persistence alone was enough to see her through, and sometimes her intrepid spirit simply urged her forward without giving in to hesitation or fear. Perhaps it was this trait that Mr. Harry Morrison, of the Morrison-Knudsen engineering giants, found in the self-described ‘farm girl from California’. Morrison himself had climbed to the heights from practically nothing save determination. The determination of Velma’s spirit is evident in Boise, the place she came to call home, through the continuing and unwavering support of the arts and humanities in Boise by the Morrison Foundation. And now she joins the echelons with the other Ladies of Boise, whose lives have been commemorated and celebrated. She will not be forgotten.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 01:16:08 +0000