Though Molly Brown's fame lies with the sinking of the Titanic, the Molly Brown House Museum's summer exhibit, "A Call to Arms," aims to show her place in history beyond the boat by focusing on her involvement in World War I.
Some of the artifacts include several original Red Cross nurses uniforms as well as Army uniforms from Colorado soldiers who served during the war. It also includes documents and pictures of Lawrence Brown,Molly's son, who served as an Army captain. Molly herself volunteered as an ambulance driver and nurse in France during WWI.
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After the war, Molly was a part of the American Committee for Devastated Regions of France, and was later honored with the French equivalent of knighthood, the French Legion of Honor.
Sabrina McLaughlin, a visitor to the museum from Pennsylvania, said the exhibit was particularly interesting because it showed that there was more to Molly Brown than her "unsinkability."
"I didn't know much of Molly Brown's history," McLaughlin said. "It's great beyond the Titanic. It would be great if more people knew about it."
For an interactive touch, visitors are able to write and send letters to current U.S. soldiers at war and pin up paper poppies and yellow ribbons, the symbols typically used for remembering WWI soldiers. McLaughlin took advantage of the opportunity to write a message to the troops through the United Service Organizations.
"I found this part of it very moving," McLaughlin said. "It's nice that they do letters to service members."
Throughout this year, the Molly Brown House Museum is looking back 100 years to 1914, one of Molly Brown's most active years, according to the museum's director of education, Jamie Wilms. The previous exhibit focused on Ludlow Massacre and the next exhibit will be about the Molly Brown's work with women's suffrage.
"A Call to Arms" runs through September.
