Above: One of the cross-stitch items created and donated by Edith Patton Rutherford.

When most people think about alumni donations to colleges and universities, they usually consider it in terms of money. However, significant gifts can also be made in the form of documents and artifacts important to institutional history.Edith Patton Rutherford made such a donation on November 17, 2015, at the Alumni House on the Perkinston Campus. She gave items related to her 1962 Perkinston Agricultural High School (PAHS) graduation; an extensive cross-stitch collection of items she made representing the college; historical paper items related to dances and plays, and a shadow box containing her two athletic letters and a photo.

“I have always been a collector, keeping items like these because they were reminders of wonderful memories,” she said. “Over the years, I have realized that they were significant for other reasons. I was in the last graduating class at PAHS in 1962, and knew that that was a landmark event. I’m thrilled that these items can be of use to the college’s Archives.”

College archivist Charles Sullivan said items like these are vital to the history of the institution. “Many times, paper items–like programs and invitations–are lost because paper is very fragile and because such items are discarded. As a historian, these items offer me information about events that I might not otherwise have, and they give a depth to our knowledge, often personalizing it, that brings the college’s history alive. Additionally, varsity letters and personal items like the cross-stitch collection, also add depth to our collection.”

Sullivan said the paper items will be placed in acid-free sleeves and added to the archives collections in Heidelberg Hall. The sports letters and one cross-stitch item were placed in an archives exhibit room located in the Alumni House on the Perkinston Campus.

Rutherford’s sister, Dayonne Patton McGuire, was also present at the event. The Pattons, who both live in Gulfport, are originally from the Sunflower Community in Perkinston. McGuire, who began her college career at the Perkinston Campus, transferred to the newly opened Jefferson Davis Campus for her sophomore year and was in the first graduating class at that campus in May 1966. Their father, Clayton Patton, was a member of the college’s Board of Trustees from 1966-1970. Additionally, Rutherford’s husband, Louis, attended both PAHS and the college.

“The college is certainly part of my family’s history,” Rutherford said. “We love this place and enjoy talking about the many wonderful memories we have of attending here.”