©September 2003 Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.
The entire collection was kept and donated by Barbara Hall Pullen Pulver in 1983
Open for public use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from Barbara Hall Pullen Pulver must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Barbara Hall Pullan Pulver, was born on Aug. 12, 1930 in Monroe Utah. Her parents were Elna Simonsen and Elson Hall. As a young girl she was very involved in school and was voted editor of the school council. After high school Barbara attended BYU were she studied English and Drama. While attending BYU she worked for the Dept. of Sociology to pay for her schooling. After a time away from school Barbara returned to BYU to recieve a masters in Speech and Drama in 1971. Afterwards she finished her teaching certificate and began student teaching in Monroe Utah. She later accepted a full time position in Grantsville teaching language arts and special education.
Barbara was married to Marvin Pullan September 19, 1952. Together they had four children, Cyndi, Becky, Chuck, and Tami. Before the birth of Cyndi, Barbara had several children die in childbirth. Parts of her file suggest she lost four to five children at the hospital, including a pair of twins (Dennis and Danny). Her marriage with Marvin Pullan ended in 1963.
Barbara raised her four children while teaching homebound students part time. Due to the stresses of raising a family alone Barbara was admitted to the State hospital three times, the first in 1966 after Marvin Pullan tried to gain custody of the children. The second time was for only two days and the third time for three months. Following her recovery she continued to raise her children, sending two children on missions and helping all four of her children along the way to college educations.
Barbara began dating again and was generally considered by her friends as a happy and lively person. Some activities she enjoyed were square dancing, the theatre arts, and taking part n church. On July 29, 1980 Barbara was married to Eugene Pulver, which marriage ended in 1983. Contained in her collection is the unique story of a single mother who faithfully relies upon God to aid her in the financial, emotional, and physical difficulties that many single mothers face. Her collection of letters and journal entries began in 1976-1983 due to the admonition of President Spencer W. Kimball that all should keep a journal. The collection gives no further insight as to what happened in her life after 1983.
This collection is largely made up of letters that Barbara Pulver Pullan has written to friends and family. It contains a short autobiography of her life from 1930-1976. Some short poems about her lonliness and past marriges. "A Modern Mythological Allegory", written by herself about her past marriage with Eugene Pulver. The collection also contains medical records and accounts for 1983. In most folders there are calander pages stapled together with brief notes of what she had accomplished that day. Lastly there are several short essays(ex. "On Finding A Lawyer", "On the Death of an Uncle", "On Finding the Right Answer") that she wrote about difficult times in her life.