Frieda A. Gillette

Finally, Gillette gave a chapel address in February 1976. Her topic, unlike many chapel messages we hear today at Houghton, was about local history. She told the story of the first white person to stay overnight in this area, back when the Indigenous tribes were the primary residents, a woman named Mary Jemison. She had been taken captive, her family murdered, and eventually, since she was spared, she married a warrior and spent the rest of her life living among them. Jemison was noted to have endured a 600 mile “trek carrying her nine-month-old child on her back,” in order to stay with the indigenous tribe she had been living with. The story told of perseverance, adaptation, and merging cultures. But unfortunately, we have an incomplete manuscript of her chapel address, with several pages missing from the middle.

Frieda Gillette was a pivotal part of the Houghton community. As we’ve seen, she grew up here, stayed relatively close to here for her higher education, and came back to teach. Even after seeing the wonders of this world, she stood by the community she created back here at Houghton, dedicating her time to teaching the students who passed through and writing a book on Houghton’s local history. Her care for the community contributes to her lasting legacy, something that continues to shape Houghton University today.