{"id":17030,"date":"2025-04-30T11:26:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T17:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/library\/?p=17030"},"modified":"2026-08-11T14:21:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:21:43","slug":"a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/library\/2025\/04\/30\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\/","title":{"rendered":"A behind the scenes look at “The Story Girl of Priest Lake” exhibit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Graduating this May with a Master of Arts in History, public historian Kate Howk offers the Boise State community a unique glimpse into her process for her research project turned exhibition: The Story Girl of Priest Lake: Nell Shipman\u2019s Idaho Movieland, 1922\u20131925<\/a>. On display through May 12 in Albertsons Library, the exhibit draws from rich materials in Albertsons Library\u2019s Special Collections and Archives, and the legacy of Tom Trusky, who recovered many of these materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project began with a spark\u2014an elevator pitch from Cheryl Oestreicher and Gwyn Hervochon, archivists in Special Collections and Archives, who introduced Howk to the pioneering and complicated figure Nell Shipman. A silent film actress and independent filmmaker before Hollywood, Shipman operated a film studio in the Idaho wilderness complete with cast, crew and furry friends until the studio eventually went bankrupt, and Shipman fled. Howk approached research into the subject with interest, and a bit of \u201cheavy-handedness,\u201d at first not being able to fully empathize with Shipman, thinking it selfish and irresponsible of her to bring a whole zoo of animals under-equipped for North Idaho weather to Priest Lake, and then leave them behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A turning point came when Howk read Shipman\u2019s memoir, written in a romantic and expressive style. \u201cGood historians let the sources tell the stories for them,\u201d Howk explained. This memoir transformed her views on Nell Shipman, still taking into account the problematic nature of some of her actions while also deeply sympathizing with the difficult situation Shipman found herself in, and her desire to persevere and create in spite of it. The memoir, along with personal letters and photographs, gave Howk a foundation to reframe Shipman not as a failed entrepreneur, but as a pioneering woman navigating extraordinary challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working in close collaboration with archivist and exhibit co-curator Gwyn Hervochon, Howk shaped the exhibit as a narrative experience, with visual storytelling at its core. The resulting exhibit presents Shipman as a multifaceted figure\u2014an actress, animal rights advocate, and filmmaker\u2014whose story includes both admirable and uncomfortable truths. \u201cIt\u2019s not my job to make people like Nell,\u201d said Howk, \u201cbut it is my job to help them understand her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Howk sees the project as more than a research project and foray into public programming. \u201cMaybe not a love letter,\u201d she said, \u201cbut an appreciation of the risks Nell took as a woman, mother, and naturalist for the sake of her craft.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graduating this May with a Master of Arts in History, public historian Kate Howk offers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3085,"featured_media":17031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1798,2627,2585],"tags":[2535,2531,2530,2510],"class_list":["post-17030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-at-the-library","category-exhibit","category-special-collections-and-archives","tag-albertsons-library","tag-boise-state-university","tag-history","tag-special-collections-and-archives"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA behind the scenes look at "The Story Girl of Priest Lake" exhibit - Albertsons Library<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/library\/2025\/04\/30\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A behind the scenes look at "The Story Girl of Priest Lake" exhibit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Graduating this May with a Master of Arts in History, public historian Kate Howk offers...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/library\/2025\/04\/30\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Albertsons Library\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T17:26:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-11T20:21:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/668\/2025\/04\/IMG_9936-1200x630.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.boisestate.edu\\\/library\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/30\\\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.boisestate.edu\\\/library\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/30\\\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"A behind the scenes look at “The Story Girl of Priest Lake” exhibit\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-30T17:26:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-11T20:21:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.boisestate.edu\\\/library\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/30\\\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":418,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.boisestate.edu\\\/library\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/30\\\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.boisestate.edu\\\/library\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/668\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/IMG_9936-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Albertsons Library\",\"Boise State University\",\"History\",\"Special Collections and Archives\"],\"articleSection\":[\"At the Library\",\"Exhibit\",\"Special Collections and Archives\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.boisestate.edu\\\/library\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/30\\\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.boisestate.edu\\\/library\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/30\\\/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-story-girl-of-priest-lake-exhibit\\\/\",\"name\":\"A behind the scenes look at \\\"The Story Girl of Priest Lake\\\" exhibit - 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