Author awarded for recording, preserving Valley history

Spokane Valley Heritage Museum curators recently awarded local author Florence Boutwell with the first Heritage Award for her work preserving and recording Valley history.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without that initial support and direction from her,” said museum coordinator Jayne Singleton. “Her books were definitely a head start for the museum.”

Boutwell’s four-volume series titled “The Spokane Valley” details the region’s story as it grew from a sparse landscape to a thriving agricultural center. She also has written four middle-school readers and taught in the Central Valley School District.

“It was always my hobby,” Boutwell said of history writing.

She received a plaque to commemorate the award during a tea at the museum Nov. 19.

“I was very surprised,” Boutwell said, “the whole thing was just very nice.”

Her interest in Valley history dates to the first years after she moved here from New Jersey during World War II. After receiving a degree from Montclair State Teachers College in New Jersey she served as an accounting officer at the Velox Naval Supply Depot and later became the depot’s historian. After the war, she received the credits needed for her Washington teaching certificate at Whitworth College and later earned a master’s in English at Gonzaga University.

The museum will present the Heritage Award annually to someone who has made significant contributions to the preservation of archives, photographs, buildings and other aspects of Valley history, Singleton said.

“We decided that part of our role would be to bestow an annual preservation award,” she said.

In addition to Boutwell’s books, her advice was also instrumental in getting the museum running, said Singleton.