Mary Lovell- 100 years old, Kappa Kappa Gamma, PEO, PE

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Mary Lovell who will turn 100 on February 23. She lives at Clatsop Retirement Village in Astoria where Judy Atkinson joined me to record this interview.

Mary has lived an interesting life and doesn’t look a day over 80. She shares about growing up in Astoria, going to University of Oregon, being a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and PEO Chapter FE which she helped begin. She tells about her memories of living through the great depression, getting married before she finished her teaching degree, then becoming an aide at Astor School to teach PE and work in the library. She played organ at Grace Episcopal Church for the youth choir and has attended all of her adult life. Her family see her as "being brave, intelligent, with a great ear for music and a wonderful sense of humor.”

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Transcript

Mary-Lovell

 Mary

3:33

You can always find something to be happy about.

 Jan Johnson

3:40

All right, good afternoon, Mary. Welcome to women of the Northwest, where today I get to interview you who are going to have your 100th birthday. Thank you. Nice to have you. Very exciting. So, I'm wondering, have you always lived in Astoria?

Mary

4:00

No, I lived here when I was an infant until I was in the third grade. And then we moved to Portland. And this was the beginning of the Depression. My grandfather was in business here and he lost his business. And so, we moved to Portland, and I stayed there until I was finished high school. I had my whole high school career there. And then I after that, I never I really never came home to live because I went to the University of Oregon and after two and a half years, I met and married my husband. And that was only because the war was on. We didn't think there would be any men available. 

 Jan Johnson

5:00

was a bird in my hand yeah

Mary

5:03

all there were no there were no men on campus but anyway 

 Jan Johnson

5:07

I think that's remarkable that you went to college!

Mary

5:10

are a master he lived here all his life, so we moved back immediately to Astoria

 Jan Johnson

5:17

Are you tell me about what was college like then

Mary

5:20

college oh I had a good time up to the point when there were no men. I liked it very much. I joined a sorority house and was active in various things there and I belong to Kappa Kappa Gamma and so did Sally Rhone, incidentally. 

 Jan Johnson

5:43

Yeah.

Judy

5:45

So I had a very good time. The short time I was there.

 Jan Johnson

5:52

What were you majoring in?

Judy

5:54

I majored in physical education. Oh,

 Jan Johnson

5:57

was your plan to teach? Did you end up teaching?

Judy

6:03

No, I never got my degree.

 Jan Johnson

6:05

Oh, so you would have had to finish that.

Judy

6:07

But tell her what you did do at after school,

Judy

6:11

after school when I was hired to work as a teacher's aide. And after I'd been there quite a while. And they discovered that this is what I had majored in, most of the teachers really didn't want to teach PE. And I was hired to work with special ed. Okay, what did they call now they call it the non special ed, but they call it? Well, I can't think of what it is. Yeah. Anyway. I did PE for them. That's exactly what I was hired for. And when they or other teachers saw that, that's what I was doing for that teacher. They all wanted me to do it for them. So that's how I kind of worked my way in. I hadn't planned on that at all.

Jan Johnson

7:10

Did it turn out to be what you expected it to be working with the kids?

Mary

7:15

Oh yes, I loved it. Yeah. And the longer I was there, the broader that they allowed me to make the program, the better it was. So, I enjoyed that for about 15 or 16 years. And then I was losing my hearing because a gymnasium with 200 to 300 kids is just impossible. It just took my hearing. And so, I was given the opportunity to work with the librarian. Okay, Fred Clayton, and so I switched jobs and became his aide. That I just absolutely adored. Yeah, so I had had kind of a checkered career there.

 Jan Johnson

8:16

Were you at that time? Were you raising children?

Judy

8:19

Oh, my children were all already grown. I think were all in school in Astoria. They were the youngest one was in middle school. And so, I feel it's time that I could do that. 

Jan Johnson

8:36

How many children did you have?

Mary

8:38

three girls and a boy. Allright. 

Jan Johnson

8:41

One lonely boy. I bet he got picked on or I but he picked on his sisters.

Judy

8:48

Oh, he was he was kind of a handful. But he's a nice guy now.

 Jan Johnson

8:56

He grew out of the handful.

Judy

8:59

He didn't develop into anything too bad.

 Jan Johnson

9:05

Well, you were probably a great mom. What's your earliest memory?

Judy

9:09

My earliest memory I guess you'd have to say living on 15th street here at Astoria and getting the newspaper delivered in the afternoon. And the neighbor girl and I who was about my age. I don't think I was in school yet. We always ran for the funny paper. Oh, and we spread it out right there on the sidewalk and flop down on our tummies. And read the funny papers and I have that I must have been about three.

Jan Johnson

9:54

Really? Yeah, yeah. 

Mary

9:58

I whenever I think about having my beginning in Astoria I always that image always comes to my mind.

 Jan Johnson

10:07

Isn't that interesting? Yeah. I remember, you know, now that you say that that's one of my early memories as well. But I was probably in fourth grade and realizing that I could do more than just look at the pictures 

Mary

10:21

you could read I could actually read meant something. So, yeah,

Judy

10:27

we probably made up our own dialogue for something but sure. Just the thought now, of lying flat on my tummy with my hands on the sidewalk, you know, Oh,

Judy

10:43

how fun was that? How fun. How, what did your husband do? 

Mary

10:48

Pardon me? 

 Jan Johnson

10:49

What did your husband do?

Judy

10:51

What do I have to do?

 Jan Johnson

10:52

What did your husband 

Judy

10:54

Oh, he his father has done the General Motors agency here. He got out of school. He came to work for his father and eventually took over.

Judy

11:07

I see. Yeah. Interesting. So, talk about some of the changes you've seen in your life.

Judy

11:17

Oh, Astoria has not changed a whole lot except for I would say, maybe a few improvements downtown and buildings downtown. On the Waterfront, especially. But the biggest change and the greatest change? I think that's happened to us has been the Riverwalk. 

 Jan Johnson

11:42

Oh, isn't that beautiful? 

Mary

11:44

It is it has just made this town and it goes all the way from out on the pier. 

 Jan Johnson

11:53

What or what have you 39

Mary

11:55

All the way up to? Almost Tongue Point?

Judy

11:59

Yes. I know. Isn't it just so fun, and it's so beautiful and marvelous and safe. It's a safe place to walk. 

Mary

12:08

And it really is. 

Jan Johnson

12:10

And a lot of good conversations happen along there. 

Mary

12:13

That's right. That's right. Yeah. So I think that's a great improvement.

Judy

12:21

I was thinking about the pandemic of 1918. But you were just a tiny girl at that time.

Judy

12:29

Yeah, it was kind of winding down at that point. I think. I remember my parents were married in 1915. And they were talking about it then how, what a terrible thing it was they lived in California at the time. And so, it went on for a number of years to just like this one now,

 Jan Johnson

12:58

and eventually ended 

Mary

13:01

eventually ended Oh, and eventually did. So, there's oh, maybe it's morphed into what we're having.

 Jan Johnson

13:11

Oh, my. You also lived through the Depression. What do you remember about the depression?

Judy

13:16

Oh, I, what do I remember I remember that. We had a big house in Portland, a big old-fashioned house. And it had three bedrooms. And my father and mother took in his father and mother. And then his brother lost his job. And he didn't have any money. So, he, he, they didn't live with us. But they lived across the street. And they had Sunday dinner with us every single Sunday. He and his wife and child. And then let's say my sister and I had one bedroom. My parents had another. My grandparents had one. And my grandmother was a seamstress by trade. Hmm, beautiful seamstress and she used to let me watch her so and it became kind of a passion of mine too.

Judy

14:21

And then you became a quilter did that inspire you?

Judy

14:28

it was sort of becoming a thing about the time I retired so I thought well that's kind of fun. I'll try that right yeah, I made oh me countless quilts. 

Judy

14:45

Yeah, it's rewarding. Yeah, it is. Did you like when you were quilting? Did you like doing the process or did you like the end product

Judy

14:55

I liked The various steps but I think the best part of all was after it was pieced together and picked it up. I always had a big hoop, put it on my lap and took that first stitch. The first stitch was the one. And I always went back to it. And look, look for that first stitch when I was you know, trying to figure out where do I start on here? I know it was right smack in the center.

Judy

15:37

That's interesting. What kind of colors did you like to use? Or patterns? 

Mary

15:41

I liked just everything. 

Mary

15:44

Yeah, was there any certain kind of a fabric that you liked more than others? No or just the usual Well, what I can buy at the fabric store.

Judy

15:54

One of my daughters now is taking old quilts and turning them into jackets. 

Mary

15:59

Oh, how lovely

Jan Johnson

16:01

that she's been selling. Right? Yeah. And they're pretty cute there.

Judy

16:05

I have one at home that was on my bed. And my guest room and it was in the sunlight for too long. Now, one day I went in there and threw it back for some reason, or rather, maybe to change the sheets or something. And all of a sudden, these pieces just flying around the room. 

 Jan Johnson

16:32

Oh, no.  

Jan Johnson

16:33

And so I I haven't done anything with it. It's we just turned it over and put the other side down. But that was a real lesson. And it was it was a quilt that was a later one that I did very hurriedly. Had a lot of scraps. But it was it was just astonishing to see those pieces just start flying.

Jan Johnson

17:03

And not in a magical way.

Judy

17:06

So, we don't have sunlight on our quilts anymore. 

Jan Johnson

17:10

I know, I noticed that with I have a log cabin quilt that I made that's on my bed and has using Bali batiks and purples and blues and whatever like that, but the sun coming in. I'm thinking I better cover that up. So, I do cover it when I've got my curtains open. Because yeah, it's too much work to let that just fade away and not me. Oh, so I am sure you had lots of recipients of your beautiful quilts. Yeah. And then you were and still are a PEO. How has that been?

Judy

17:50

Oh, it's been wonderful. I was happy that I was just winding up getting ready to retire and, and I was very pleased to be asked. And Judy was one of our original 12 I think, wasn't it Judy?

 Jan Johnson

18:11

that we had Judy Atkinson? 

Mary

18:13

Yes. And so we formed our new chapter and what year was that? Gosh, 82. Y.

Judy

18:33

At 1987 1987. Okay. And, Judy, had you been a part of PEO before? How did you think I started? I

Judy

18:51

joined my mother's chapter. I say when I was just getting out of college, so okay. But I was never President Jean. Barney was our first president. Yeah. And Mary was our fifth.

Jan Johnson

19:04

Okay.

Judy

19:06

Anyway, we had such a great group of women. And there's, I'm sure the same way still. I've been to a few meetings in the past years. And many of the girls I don't you don't have known they've been new to me, but they're just lovely. Yes. And so I think it was of all the things that I have organizations that I joined afterwards. It was the most satisfying to me.

Jan Johnson

19:37

Uh huh. Because of the relationships 

Mary

19:39

Well, yes, that and the reason for our being

 Jan Johnson

19:48

and scholarships for young women or from women in general. 

Mary

19:52

Uh huh very worthwhile. 

 Jan Johnson

19:55

Yeah, I was going to look up and see how many dollars 1000s of dollars that our PTO has given in scholarships, because there's been tons.

Judy

20:06

Oh, I really, truly do. Have you ever seen the blanket that they did? That we all we mean 1000s of dollars that Afghan?  Oh, rosy red and white. Right. Right. different scenes of our story.

 Jan Johnson

20:23

And the dates. Yes, yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Oh,

Judy

20:27

yes. That was that was a real great fun.

Jan Johnson

20:30

That was a be a big hit, wasn't it? 

Judy

20:33

And we're still selling tulips every spring. 

Mary

20:36

Really? What do you know? That's grand
Jan Johnson

20:42

What kind of what was the first car that you remember? 

Mary

20:46

First car that I owned? 

 Jan Johnson

20:48

Well, or that your parents your family owned? What do you remember?

Mary

20:51

My family owned? My mother had an old dodge coupe. And it had isinglass windows. Oh. And, well, it was a very drafty car. So we didn't like to go too far in it. But I she had that. And then later on my father owned a Model A Ford. Okay, because they were in the Ford business, my family. Uh huh. And then the way they left the business, right, and I married into General Motors. Chevrolet girl.

Jan Johnson

21:37

My, yeah, I remember, we had a station wagon. It had a woody side on it, whatever. And if you sat in the back, you could roll down the window. Which, you know, we were out there were four of us kids. And so I remember one time traveling through New Mexico. And it was all desert everywhere. But somehow we got into some kind of a row, my siblings and I. And I like to blame it on my brother. I don't know my memory might be a little tainted, but somebody threw my shoe out the back window. And my mother was when she found out was frantic because my parents did not have a lot of money at the time. And we had to go turn around and look everywhere until we found my shoe cuz I'll never be able to afford another pair of shoes for you, Jan, you'll have to go barefoot.

Judy

22:40

Well, it would have been a tragedy, you know. For some people, right. You would have been for my family. Yeah. Yeah. We got a pair of. I remember when I was going to school in Portland. My mother took us every fall to Myer and Franks, my sister and I and bought us our school shoes for the year. And they were heavy brogues, very thick soles. And they were always fitted one size too large. 

 Jan Johnson

23:18

So you could grow into them. 

 Jan Johnson

23:20

We can grow into them. You just wear an extra pair of socks.

Judy

23:24

Like to swap around and then but that's what we wore. Really, it was my memories of, of the days of the Depression. were such that I didn't realize that we were poor. Oh, because my father always had a job. It might not have paid very much but he was never out of work. And he put it in a victory garden in the backyard and he just said everything day make things come together. He was the busy bee in the whole family. Yeah. And I just remember they were happy days. And we didn't realize we were poor because everybody was poor.

 Jan Johnson

24:16

Yeah. Yeah, everybody. 

Judy

24:19

Yeah, it was just astonishing how, how? How few people had work.

 Jan Johnson

24:30

Yeah, my mom. Stories were about what she called hobos at the time and stopping by her mother always having giving them a loaf of bread or giving them something to eat. And then also about her going out and collecting dandelion leaves street that it was just sometimes there just wasn't much of anything

Judy

24:55

They're for sale down at the co-op. I saw them yesterday.

 Jan Johnson

24:59

Now as a delicacy Oh, interesting, huh? Well,

Judy

25:06

I would like to ask Mary, what are some of your first memories of Grace Church? Oh, tell us well about that's been close to 80 years. So, my first when we met we were first married and moved back to Astoria. Bob said, you may choose any church you want to go to. And I said, Well, let's my family were Presbyterians. Let's go there. So, we went to that. And I didn't, I thought it was an in the interior of the church was very interesting. But I didn't particularly take to it. And so then, I think we went next to the Methodist Church. And my husband very dutifully, never said a word came along. And then we went next to the Episcopal Church. And that's where he went to Sunday school all his life. Boy Scouts. Yeah, told me that, but he was very happy to have me go there

 Jan Johnson

25:18

So that's where you settled. 

Mary

26:05

When you settled there. That's amazing. That was in 19. I joined the church, the same year, I was pregnant with Jane and she will be 70. She's now 74. Okay, and so that's how long I've been an official member. And I've loved it. I've loved everything about it. But it was the music that got me I liked that kind of music.

Jan Johnson

26:56

And they have a pretty nice organ, don't they?

Judy

26:59

We have singalongs on Sunday afternoons here. And then one of our residents plays the piano in the main fun activities room and people say, and some of those old Methodist hymns come flowed right back. I can say all the first verses, but they can't be.

 Jan Johnson

27:23

What's one of your favorite hymns? Oh,

Judy

27:28

I don't know. I love Fairest, Lord Jesus. And there's a new one that I like very much. But that's the one that has six sharps. I asked the organist to play it one Sunday when I was there. And he very dutifully did but he's, and I thanked him. He said, Well, you should because I had a terrible

Jan Johnson

27:59

Did you ever play piano or going to church?

Mary

28:02

I played the Oregon for the children's choir. Okay. We had a little small electric organ. Okay. But I never played the pipe organ

Jan Johnson

28:13

Yeah, yeah.

Mary

28:14

She was in the choir. I imagine I sang the choir for a

 Jan Johnson

28:19

beautiful, beautiful I bet that's so fun. That's me. What do you what would you tribute being able to live as long as you have? Oh,

Mary

28:32

I guess you'd have to say it's good genes. I have no I don't know. nobody in our family except my father and I have lived to be in our indoor nighties. And, in his family, nobody lived past 70 Oh, both of his parents died when they were 70. And that was the dreaded number. And when he got past 70, he became a new man. He was pretty leery till he got seventy. Then he began to live. Yeah,

Judy

29:18

I think it's her attitude. Mary's attitude.

Mary

29:21

Oh, I think that has a lot to do with it. You can always find something to be happy about right? Yeah, I'm not always happy. But you can make lemonade out of lemons

 Jan Johnson

29:39

anytime your cups half full, not half empty. Yeah. Yeah. If you had a piece of advice to give to your grandchildren, what would the best advice be for them?

Mary

29:53

It would be I think I would have to say Love the Lord. And always try to do your best.

 Jan Johnson

30:06

Yeah. I don't think he could get any better advice than that, right?

Mary

30:12

I don't know. So many youngsters now don't even know the Lord. Because while people don't go to the organized church anymore. Oh, well,

Mary

30:25

yeah. Glad I did and still do. It's been really the most major part of my life. My Yeah, it has. It's affected every part of my life.

 Jan Johnson

30:40

Right. Yeah. Understandable.

Mary

30:43

Maybe that's part of longevity. Absolutely.

 Jan Johnson

30:49

Yeah, quite possibly. Anything else you'd like to share with us?

Mary

30:53

Oh, golly, I think right off the bat. I'm having I have troubles with memories. And thinking of names is very, very

Jan Johnson

31:09

oh my gosh, yes.

Mary

31:11

I had such a hard time thinking of Sally Rhone's name today, when I was thinking back over that, over the years that I could see her just as plain as day, but could I call her name?

Judy

31:24

And look how long it took for me to remember Monty's name.

Mary

31:29

That'll happen when I'm trying to think of one of my grandchildren's.

Jan Johnson

31:32

I know, because you can picture them ,and they were right there in front of your face. Yes.

Mary

31:37

So, it's, it's a time of life now. That's kind of challenging.Jan Johnson

31:43

Mm hmm. Do you have any goals you want to attain to? 

Mary

31:51

Well? goals are no. Just living every day. Keep on keep on keeping on keeping on. 

 Jan Johnson

32:00

Keep it on. That's wonderful. But thank you, Mary. This has been wonderful. I'm so glad.

Mary

32:05

So nice to talk with you, Jan. I agreed to and I hope you can get something out of this.

Jan Johnson

32:12

I'm sure we will.