Linda Irwin
Golden Spike Chapter, NSDAR, Charter Member and Benefactor
Linda Irwin was born in Port Gibson, New York, on January 1, 1852. She was educated in the schools of that vicinity and entered the teaching profession. She came to Ogden, Utah, in 1891 and began teaching in the city schools and taught until her retirement in 1926.
When Linda started teaching school in Utah she taught five days a week for $40 a month. Her school was a single room, single dipper community water bucket, pot-bellied stove of uncertain heating and a complicated seating system. On her first day of teaching, she found crowded into her 52 pupil capacity school, 97 students ranging in ages from six to fifteen. In the 38 years as a teacher she was never absent because of illness. No snow days for her students! She had the reputation of helping the students branded unteachable. Her methods were supported by parents and principals alike.
Miss Irwin lived alone in a small home she bought in Ogden. After she retired she lived in that same, home surrounded by her collection of Revolutionary War period relics. These artifacts were displayed in several places including the Utah State Capitol and the Carnegie Free Library in Ogden. She donated these items to the Golden Spike Chapter, NSDAR, when she passed away in 1941. In the 1960s, the relics were moved to the Weber State University Stewart Library Special Collections. A few years ago, the chapter had the pleasure of viewing these items at a special meeting held at the library.
Miss Irwin also left Golden Spike Chapter, NSDAR, a quarter of her estate in 1941. Invested and managed wisely, its interest put the chapter on sure financial footing.
In conjunction with our 100th year anniversary, the Golden Spike Chapter, NSDAR, donated funds to the Weber State University Veterans Support Program in memory of Linda Irwin. This money will be used to help women veterans that attend the university. Miss Irwin’s legacy lives on.
Sources:
“Ruth Wood’s Home Town Interviews”, Ogden Standard Examiner, 27 Jan 1939 p. 4.
Linda Irwin, Obituary, Salt Lake Telegram, 24 Nov 1941, p. 20.