McCONNELL, MARY (REVERE)

by Mary McConnell

Entry F281 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Mary is the youngest child of Clarence and
Bertha Revere. She was born Dec. 9, 1918, at
her parents home, north of Heela, Nebr. with
Dr. D.A. Walker in attendance. When Mary
was five, Dad bought an old kid horse from
a neighbor, Joe Herncall, when they sold their
place to H.M. Canida. Mary spent many
happy hours riding "Old Tiger" with her dog,
Adolph, at her heels, in the hot sun till her
hair was bleached white and her nose burned
red. The family moved closer to Mullen,
Nebraska, when she was about nine years old,
and school days in the country were ended,
but there were many memories. A teacher,
Violet (Mathews) Kraye brought her Edison
phonograph to school and the pupils felt
privileged when they got to select records
from a pasteboard box bull of them. When it
was Mary's turn she always played "Gasoline
Gus and his Jitney Bus". Pupils usually
walked to school and carried a lunch and
drinking water. They hid the water behind a
fence post in the school yard to keep from
sharing with the ones that didn't want to
bring it to school with them. The walk to and
from school afforded a time to discuss the
grouchy teacher, as well as school activities,
as no one was allowed to mention school
problems at home.

Life was casual on the Adam's place, which
was Mary's home for several years, with no
telephone or mail route and just a few
neighbors, and everyone missed the "old
place" where the family used to swim in the
summer time and skate in the winter time,
but friends dropped by quite often and
brought magazines to exchange, and always
stayed to eat a meal and play cards till late
at night and also told the latest news.

Mary and Bernice carried water to little
trees in the yard, and by the end of the week
had earned ten cents, enough money for a
ticket to the picture show in town on
Saturday evening. A horseback ride into town
on a summer afternoon or a Sunday evening
to check on the mail was a favorite passtime,
and a prairie owl learned how to set on a gate
post and follow across the hills for a few miles.
The girls usually done the riding and wran-
gled the horses in the summer time, One
summer, Mary with the help of a sister
Bernice, retired the saddle horses, and from
that time on rode the range in the Model "A".
It didn't take near so much time but wasn't
near as much fun either. Dad sold nine of the
saddle horses, all in one day, but everything
was changing and they weren't rode much
any more.

Mary graduated from the Mullen High
School in the class of 1936.

In the summer of 1939 Mary went to help
the cook on the Sibbitt ranch, a few miles
north of Hyannis, Nebraska. There she met
Robert McConnell, and they were married
Nov. 4, 1939. Bob worked on ranches and in
the mines in Wyoming a few years, then they
moved back to Mullen and Bob worked for
Franke Construction after serving in the
Japanese theater during World War II.

Mary took a job in the housekeeping
department at the Rest Home, when it
opened, and remains in that position today.
They purchased the Steve Ham property just
north of the Commercial Hotel in Mullen.

The McConnells have three children.
Marclyn Kay married Richard Garrow of
New York state and lives in Lincoln, Nebr.
"Mickie" has four children, Bill, Rick, Tam-
my and Gary. The three older children are
employed and Gary is in school. Robert Gary
works for the Burlington R.R. in Lincoln. He
married Nancy Garrow and they have two
girls, Cheryl and Jennifer. Terry is married
to Dean Fischer. They are living in Amehrst
and they have three children, Scott, Bo Dean
and Shawna.