With her new marriage to Levi Hutton underway May had the difficult challenge of reconciling the identity of married woman and passionate independent pioneer. The couple moved to Wallace and with Levi’s steady work as a railroad engineer May had the opportunity to reevaluate her life choices. She still very much wanted to be even more financially secure and she deeply cared for others wanting to ease the suffering of those who were downtrodden.
For a time she worked in a hotel as the manager of a dining room and she continued to read more material on subjects near to her heart. She may have left school when she was ten but May was determined to be knowledgeable about the variety of issues that impacted the region she now called home. Her early days in the mining camps of Idaho left a dramatic impression and she emerged with new opinions on social rights, labor, and women’s suffrage. All these would continue to color her activities as she climbed the rungs of society’s ladder.
The conditions of the mines in Idaho and many other western states were dangerous and worsening. Some of the mines had formed unions in response and with their arrival came an increase in discussions related to the merit or detriment of the organizations. May was a proponent of the unionization of the mines. She had seen the abuses of the corporate owners of the mines and the conditions that the workers had to perform in everyday. Her readings and relative social stability allowed her the opportunity to participate in the debate. Her strong opinions only increased the distain held by the elite element in Wallace for the newly arrived Mrs. Hutton.
May did not fit into the more refined social element of Wallace, she was much more at home with the rougher edges of the miners. Her tastes in clothing and speech made it hard for her to move gracefully in society. She leaned toward garish hats with an abundance of gaudy elements fastened over the entire bonnet. Her dresses were often bold and did not accentuate her ample figure and on occasion she wore trousers.
Her language was rough, more appropriate for a table full of hungry miners than visitors for tea. Regardless of her social situation she was a force and it was beginning to be difficult to ignore her. She attended meetings, wrote letters, and embraced her growing leadership role that would be her lifelong occupation. She shunned the “appropriate” feminine sphere of the time forging ahead a pioneering spirit to claim her place in the world.
Sources:
Arksey, Laura. “Hutton, May Arkwright (1860-1915).” History Link: The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7547 (accessed March 8, 2009).
Horner, Patricia Voeller. “May Arkwright Hutton: Suffragist and politician.” in Women in Pacific Northwest History: An Anthology, ed. Karen J. Blair, 25-42. Seattle: University of Wasington Press, 1990.
Leinberger, Lisa. “Gravesite monument memorializes Huttons.” Spokesman Review, April 17, 2008.
Montgomery, James. Liberated Woman. Fairfield: Ye Galleon Press, 1985.
Schwantes, Carlos Arnaldo. The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.
Washington State Historical Society: Digital Collection. “May Arkwright Hutton Collection”. http://digitum.washingtonhistory.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/hutton (accessed March 8, 2009).
Michelle Glowen - A passionate historian, Michelle, holds both a Bachelor and Master of Arts in the field. She was awarded while in her program for her ...
