Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The Front Row tells story of Rosa Morell and family

More than a few Dawes County residents will remember the Jose' Morrell family, who lived in Chadron during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Jose Morell
Jose' Morell Romero and his wife, Rosa (Rosy), were refugees who fled Cuba following the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959.

Morrell held undergraduate degrees from the University of Havana, where he later also received his doctorate in civil law. He was prominent in Cuban political and legal circles before the revolution, serving as Cuba's Secretary of Labor and as president of the Sugar Workers Retirement Fund.

In the 1950s, he was a justice on the Cuban Supreme Court.  He later held leadership roles among the anti-Castro population in the United States.

The Morell family arrived in Chadron in 1964, where Jose' would teach at Chadron State College for several years — and where their younger daughter, Silvia, would spend some formative years.  The Morells moved to Florida in the late 1970s.  Both Jose' and Rosy are now deceased.

Silvia (Morrell) Alderman has written a book that encompasses much of the family story, focusing upon her remarkable mother, "Rosy."  Silvia is a 1973 graduate of CSC and lives in Florida.  In 2007, she was recognized as a CSC Distinguished Alumna.  

We first learned about the book in a web posting on the CSC website.  Written by veteran newspaper writer/editor George Ledbetter, the posting shares more information about the Morrell family and Sylvia's book.  You'll find the online story at the following link:  The Front Row by Sylvia Morell Alderman.

Sunday, September 6, 2015