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Allen, Pearl E.
| Last Name: | Allen |
|---|---|
| First Name: | Pearl E. |
| Dates: |
*17.10.1887 (Date of Birth)
*1961 (Date of Death)
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| Biography/History: | Pearl Allen was a Spokane woman who illustrated events in her life by writing them with a sewing machine on cloth. As young women, Pearl and her sister Lillie spent fourteen months homesteading near Othello, Washington. Dust was everywhere in sage brush country. The only water came hand-carried from a nearby stream, and once they earned title to the land in 1909, Pearl and Lillie returned to Spokane. Pearl’s first husband died young. She worked as a receptionist to support herself and their daughter, Pearlie. Pearl loved to sew and began tatting lace during quiet hours at work. She seldom went anywhere without her shuttle and ball of thread. In 1923, Pearl married Leslie Allen, and they had two sons, Clyde and Neil. One day, Pearl sat at her treadle sewing machine to patch the boys’ overalls. With the presser foot raised, she stitched the boys’ names in her own handwriting. This began her hobby of recording family memories in machine script on fabric. Pearl loved to read, spell, garden, and sing, but she never did learn to drive a car. Instead, she rode a bicycle eight miles from Nine Mile Falls to catch a bus into Spokane. Or she hung a bag on her mailbox to flag rides from neighbors driving into town. Pearl loved the outdoors. She roamed the hills barefoot and dropped everything to join friends for a trip. Her homemaker’s group went camping together for days. Neighbors enjoyed her humor, and she entertained grandchildren for hours with special stories. Despite limited income, the early loss of both husbands, and her daughter’s estrangement, Pearl kept a free spirit. Her son Clyde described her, “as independent as a hog on ice.” |
| Related Objects: |
4037.1 (Tablecloth, Machine Embroidered Tablecloth, 1943)
4037.10 (Potholder, Machine Embroidered Pot Holder, Spokane House)
4037.2 (Hanging, Wall, Machine Embroidered Wall Hanging, Clyde and Neil's Highschool Letter and Poems, 1943-1945)
4037.22 (Diploma, Clyde Allen's Diploma and Diploma Cover, 1943)
4037.3 (Towel, Dish, Machine Embroidered Dish Towel, Poem by Louise Owen, 1945)
4037.4 (Runner, Table, Machine Embroidered Table Runner, Poem by Henry R. Bishop, 1946)
4037.5 (Potholder, Machine Embroidered Pot Holder, Clyde's Cookie Recipe, 1942)
4037.6 (Potholder, Machine Embroidered Pot Holder - Triple Butte Ranch, 1945)
4037.8 (Potholder; Magazine, Machine Embroidered Pot Holder - Cocktail Sauce - and Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, 1945)
4037.9 (Needlework, Machine Embroidered Quotation - Buy Hyancinths, 1930-1945)
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