Girlhood (It’s Complicated) – The View from Here

Summer 2023 is the season of Girlhood at Minnetrista Museum and Gardens. Earlier this month we opened the doors to the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibit, Girlhood (It’s Complicated), and we are thrilled to welcome our community and guests to explore how girls have been on the front lines of social and cultural change.

With a design inspired by zines, the exhibition features custom murals and illustrations like this one, by artist Krystal Quiles.
Artwork by Krystal Quiles for the National Museum of American History.

Throughout the exhibit, guests will encounter an array of artifacts and images from the Smithsonian’s own collection, exploring how girls have impacted all aspects of American life. During the traveling exhibit’s national premier in Muncie, visitors will also have the opportunity to see and experience stories of our community and region. Drawing on Minnetrista’s own museum collection, utilizing resources from fellow individuals, and collecting repositories, we highlight the stories of several local girls.

When Nettye Pierson graduated from Muncie High School in 1902, she was one of two girls of color in the senior class. Like her classmates, Nettye wore her senior pin, seen here, with pride. Minnetrista Heritage Collection

As you can imagine, with more than half of United States residents identifying as female, it means stories of East Central Indiana girlhood are plentiful. With so many to choose from, how did we decide which ones to use? Wanting to keep our local content complementary to the traveling exhibits’, we dove into the Smithsonian’s storytelling. When visiting the main show, guests will find content broken into five thematic sections – News and Politics; Education; Wellness; Work; and Fashion. When beginning to explore what local stories Minnetrista could tell, we used those five themes as our lenses as well. We also looked for areas where we knew our museum collection and the Smithsonian’s overlapped. For example, we knew that Girlhood showcases stories and historic artifacts related to the Girl Scouts. Here at Minnetrista, we also have Scouting materials in our collection. To create synergy between the Smithsonian’s main exhibit and our local content, we identified a historic Girl Scout from East Central Indiana whose story and uniform complement those of the Smithsonian’s.

This Girl Scout uniform was worn by Barbara Rench of Gaston, Indiana in the 1940s. Minnetrista Heritage Collection

In the final installation, we have highlighted the stories and related images and objects of a handful of Hoosier girls – both historic and current. When you come to visit, you will see Girl Scouting materials that belonged to Barbara Rench, a Gaston Girl Scout in the 1940s. Barbara later put the leadership skills she learned as a scout to use in her professional and personal life. Visitors will also see materials related to Ruth Chin, a long-time local and nationally recognized photographer. We dive into the experiences of Muncie girls who had to join the workforce, and we explore the experiences of girls at school. Bringing the local girlhood experience up to today, visitors will also hear about girls making an impact right here, right now.

Carrie Gillenwaters was just a teen when she began working for John Rollin and Susan Ryan Marsh. As a domestic laborer, Carrie cared for the couple’s three children. This rare photo shows Carrie in the Marsh home surrounded by the children. Ball State University, University Libraries

On view until September 17, we hope that you will come visit Girlhood (It’s Complicated). While you’re here be sure to check out the stories of our local girls in Minnetrista’s second floor atrium before heading into the galleries to explore the main exhibit. As you do, we hope you reflect on your own experiences, or those of girls in your own life – perhaps a sister, a mother, a child, or a friend. While the old nursery rhyme says, “girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice,” we know that girls are made of much stronger stuff, and this exhibit certainly proves it.