Aside from Mary’s nurse life, she
has been through many of the best and worst times of American History. Some
examples are World War II, the crashing of the Zeppelin from Germany, the
invention of computers, the building of bridges, the assassination of John F.
Kennedy, and the horrifying events of September 11th, 2001. One that
stands out for her is the Civil Rights Movement that started in 1954. Groups
like the Ku Klux Klan made it extremely difficult for black people to get
rights at this time. They also made it hard for black people to survive in a
regular society. Something that Mary would do towards the end of the movement
was allowing black people to sit next to her. She wouldn’t say anything, but
she also thought it was wrong when people made comments like, “I’m glad I’m
sitting next to you and not one of them.” (Carlsen 22 September 2008) Mary said
that a white person said this to her, with “one of them” referring to a black
person. Situations on buses with black people were very influential at the time
because black people weren’t allowed to sit in the front of the bus with the
white people. Until Rosa Parks came, that situations with black people on buses
were starting to be resolved. Rosa Parks was an icon for this time during the
Civil Rights Movement because she sat in front of the bus, and refused to give
up her seat on December 1st, 1955 (“NPR”). Mary would make life
easier for people like Rosa Parks to ride a bus. She also worked with many
black people that were aides in St. John’s Hospital. She would talk to many of
them, but one in particular named Sue. She would talk to her about family and
other various topics. She would make a concerted effort to make black people
feel comfortable around her. She cared more for them than white people
sometimes. Throughout times like this, family became very important to her.
Mary would work twice as hard to support her family.
(Photo from http://library.msstate.edu/content/templates/?a=1000&/)
