Story and photograph by Emily Ulrey
A chat with Mary…
The air outside today was sharp and cold, but inside the Betty House of Willow Ridge I found plenty of warmth. It immediately felt like home.
I brought my youngest daughter, Arden, with me, knowing she would love to see her. We waited patiently. After a few moments had passed, she came around the corner on her scooter, her small orange safety flag fluttering gently. Chances are if you’ve been around Bluffton over the past several years, you may have passed her on the sidewalk as she rode around uptown.
If you’re lucky, she probably flashed her incredibly happy smile at you and waved.
I’ve known Mary Schecter for many years, long before she owned her scooter. In fact, one of my fondest and earliest memories of her was when I was young. She attended the same church I did, and one Sunday when I was a teenager, she approached me. I’ve never forgotten the encounter, and never will.
“Hey!” She exclaimed, pointing at my foot. “You have a toe-ring!” She flashed her big smile. “Yep!” I replied. She grinned again, looking down to her own foot, while pointing at her great toe. “I have one too!” She said. I remember giggling, and hugging her, amazed at how incredibly amazing she was. I had never met someone her age with a toe-ring. I thought she was so cool! My mind was blown, the memory emblazoned in my mind forever. I’ll never forget it. We settled in and began our visit.
Mary was born on Sept. 21, 1923, in Alliance, Ohio, and was raised as one of six children. Her mother was a homemaker, and her father was a machinist at a factory there.
Because he was only being worked one day a week, their family soon followed other families to Michigan, where her father found a job at Chevrolet Gear and Axel.
Mary was 12 years old. I asked how she felt about moving to Michigan. “It was okay, but my mother didn’t want to move at first. After a while though, she thought it was an adventure, something new.”
She recalled several memories from her childhood including singing in the church choir, and playing ‘Fox and the Geese’ in the winter months and her eyes twinkled as the memory vividly came to her, and faded again.
Mary first met her husband, Lyle, on the bus stop on the way to school, when they were just children. They would later get married when she was 20. Years later she would return to Ohio in 1959 when her husband’s job brought them to Bluffton, where they raised their son and daughter, and built a life. Lyle passed away years later, in 1990. I never had the privilege of meeting him.
Our conversation paused a few times to accommodate Arden’s interruptions. Mary gave her some Chex mix. I glanced around her room, her various treasures and cherished collectibles adorning her shelves and tables.
“I love those” I told her, pointing at the Willow Tree figurines, which were displayed on a wooden table. It was a crèche. “Oh yes, I collect those” she stated proudly, and pointed to one in particular, a small donkey. “My friend brought me that one. She just left it there one day.”
I admired them for a time, before our visit neared completion. I leaned over to hug her and I asked her if she had a favorite quote, or words to live by.
She paused and thought for a moment. “My dad would always say, ‘To thine own self, be true’ and I would have to say that I think that is most important” she said smiling.
“Absolutely” I replied.
