Alexandra Williams and the Curation of “Timber! Northern Arizona’s Logging Legacy”
Alexandra Williams, a senior majoring in History and Comparative Cultural Studies, led the curation of The Cline Library Special Collections and Archives (SCA) first 2024-25 exhibition entitled “Timber! Northern Arizona’s Logging Legacy”. The SCA chose to encapsulate more than a century of this history in an exhibition using photographs, documents and diary entries from the 19th and 20th centuries, the exhibition outlines northern Arizona’s evolving relationship with its forests.
As the library’s 2024 Elizabeth and P. T. Reilly Intern, Alexandra, with a deep passion for the environmental humanities and personal experience as captain of NAU’s logging sports team, she spent the summer immersing herself in the archive’s vast collections. Working closely with her mentors, she designed a compelling timeline of the logging industry. Williams also chose the exhibition’s title, drawing inspiration from both the iconic shouts of historic lumberjacks and the battle cries of her own logging team, linking two generations of lumber enthusiasts.
According to Alexandra, “The whole reason our brand is centered around the lumberjack is because of our logging legacy. I hope that my exhibit brings the lesser-known history of Flagstaff to light, and I hope that NAU students will more proudly own their identities as NAU Lumberjacks. Environmental history and human activity surrounding the environment are critical factors to consider when making environmental decisions. After all, humans are a part of the larger whole of our ecosystem, not separate from it.”
The exhibition is on display in The Cline Library’sSCA gallery until August 2025. It is also viewable online.
