About the Exhibit

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 The Story

 In the autumn of 1885, twenty-six year old William Stewart Young was minister of the Boyle Heights Presbyterian Church. By 1887, he would lead a group of committed ministers and Los Angeles civic leaders to establish a Presbyterian institution of learning in the city. Young's ethics, commitment, and contributions to nurturing that institution--Occidental College-would foster not only the growth of Occidental but would weave the future of his family with the mission of the College. Young and his wife Adele married in 1889 and raised five children--Arthur, Paul, Walter, John, and Sarah. The children would build on his legacy--at Occidental, in the community, in academia and scholarship, and in international affairs.

The Library Exhibit

Forever Young: The Legacy of the Young Family presents a profile of an Occidental College founding family--William Stewart Young, his wife, Adele, and their children, Arthur, Paul, Walter, John, and Sarah. Inspired by their father's local involvement with Occidental College and the Los Angeles Presbyterian community, the Young Children were also deeply engaged in their communities--at Occidental, in Los Angeles, and internationally. The exhibit follows their lives from childhood, highlighting their many achievements.

Forever Young: The Legacy of the Young Family was presented at the dedication of the renovated reading rooms in the Mary Norton Clapp Library on October 16, 2007. The exhibit remained on display until August 2008. As part of the project, the historical papers, documents, and publications donated to the college archives by the Young family were inventoried and catalog records updated. Finding aids are now available in the Special Collections Department. The original exhibited materials came from the Occidental College Library Special Collections, College Archives, and the Library General Collections or were loaned by Catherine Young Selleck from her family records.

Presented in 2008/09, the exhibition was researched and developed in Spring 2007 by undergraduate intern, Lucy Campbell; College Archivist, Jean Paule; Catalog Librarian, Mark Braden; and Special Collections Librarian, Dale Ann Stieber. Dale Ann Stieber curated Forever Young with the help of Jean Paule, Mark Braden and the Special Collections student staff including Lara Spade, Alison Reed, Elizabeth Brown, Claudia Gomez, and summer intern Rebecca Nashleanas. The volunteer assistance of Ted Levy was also greatly beneficial.

The San Francisco Theological Seminary and the Pasadena Museum of History generously provided copies of original documents in their collections. The Clapp Library and Forever Young exhibit creators received research assistance from Michael Peterson, Mary Moore, and Shelly Calkins at the seminary archives and Laura Verleque and Michel Turner at the Pasadena Historical Society. Their support is greatly appreciated by everyone involved with the project.
 

About this Website


This online exhibit, The Young Years: An Occidental College Founding Family, was designed and created by Summer 2008 undergraduate intern, Kit Warchol, under the guidance of Dale Ann Stieber and Electronic Resources Librarian John Dobbins. The textual information and photographs provided on this website were reproduced or adapted from the original Forever Young: The Legacy of the Young Family exhibit. Special Collections student staff member and former Spring 2008  undergraduate intern, Laila Tootoonchi, photographed and documented the original exhibit for research and archival purposes. 2008 Mellon Fellow, Nick Velkavrh, also provided advice and technical assistance during the creation of this site. 
 

Photograph above: the Young family children in the early years.

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