Champion of Cloverdale’s history turns 95

Every Friday morning, rain or shine, longtime volunteer Louise Morris can be found welcoming visitors to the Cloverdale History Center and Gould-Shaw House Museum.

Her keen interest in history was first fostered by the discovery that her ancestors arrived from England in the 1600s on a ship named Griffin. More recently, her childhood homestead was put into a historical conservancy by the nonprofit land conservation group Trust for Public Lands.

Born on a farm in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, she and her late husband, Gilbert, met as students at Kent State University. To escape the snowy Ohio winters, the couple moved to Southern California in 1945.

After raising two daughters and a son, they relocated to Cloverdale in 1979. A registered nurse by profession, she worked the last 10 years of her career at the Cloverdale Healthcare Center when it was known as Manzanita Manor.

Morris, who turned 95 last week, has been an active member of the Cloverdale Historical Society for more than 35 years. Her tireless contributions have helped raise funds to purchase and rehabilitate the building that houses the Gould-Shaw House Museum.

According to Executive Director Elissa Morrash, “Louise is very much responsible for the saving of the Gould-Shaw House, which was originally built in 1862 and is now listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, as well as for the purchase of the neighboring lot where the garden and history center are located.”

Among other things, Morris has helped plan fundraising events and volunteered at the society’s flea markets, book sales and fiddle contests. Along with another tireless volunteer, Marge Gray, she started the Clover Quilters to create colorful full-size quilts for annual raffles. Additionally, she and the late Jack Howell, founder of the society, personally set up each of the rooms inside the museum.

The Gould-Shaw House Museum was opened to the public in 1984, but by the 1990s, its sagging brick walls and rotting filigree trim had engineers warning it could fall down in an earthquake.

In late 1995, a disagreement arose between those who wanted to tear the house down and build a new museum and others who argued it was a priceless piece of Cloverdale’s heritage and should be saved. Preservationists won, and in June of the following year, the society was awarded a grant of seed money from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Four years later, the museum reopened, and in 2001, Morris was chosen to accept the California State Office of Historical Preservation Governor’s Award on behalf of the Historical Society.

Morris’ other volunteer interests have included membership in the Women’s Improvement Club and singing in her church choir. She is also a member of the Cloverdale Senior Center and regularly attends its special events. Although she claims to be slowing down, she is still planning to set a table for the center’s Christmas Tea in December.

Morris said she expected her birthday celebration to be a little low-key this year, unlike when she turned 90 and celebrated with a well-attended party at - where else? - the Cloverdale History Center and Gould-Shaw House Museum.