Hide Article Text (OCR)
By SALLY RYAN COSTIK Curator of the Bradford Landmark Society This past year, in honor of the 100th anni versary of the AAUW and in conjunction with the Bradford Landmark Society, the Bradford Era featured a series of arti cles spotlighting extraor dinary women. Two were entertainers; two were doctors; one saved a train load of people from a burning forest fire; anoth er escaped enemy capture during World War II; one became a symbol for civil rights, and another fought for women suffrage. And so ON. For the final install ment in this popular series, I chose to feature my mother, Mary Collins Ryan. Now, everyone believes their own mother to be exceptional but it is only by looking back over her life that I realized what a truly extraordi nary life she led. My mother, Mary Rita Collins, was born on December 12, 1922 in Bradford hospital to Margaret and Harry Collins. As a nurse held the newborn baby in her arms she cooled “Aye, that’s the face of a little mick” and the nickname stuck. She became known as “Mickey” to friends and family for the rest of her life although in St. Bernard school the nuns did not tolerate colloquial nicknames and through out her school years her real name was used. She graduated in 1940, and won a scholarship to Villa Maria College but turned it down, choosing to remain in Bradford and help support her mother. Her first job was as a secretary for Healy Petroleum, located in present day City Hall. Later, she worked as a secretary for Hanley Brick, as a receptionist for Drs. Roche, Luckett, Huff, and Herbert, as secretary for the Explorer program for gifted children in the Bradford school district, worked as a secretary for Ray Johnson at the Bradford Regional Airport Authority, and still later worked as secretary at the school district’s bus garage. She met my father, Bill Ryan, at a party during World War II when he was home on leave; they married in November, 1948. He built a house in Bingham, a small community between Mt. Alton and Cyclone and soon five children came along. He worked in the oil fields as a pumper, and she became a stay at home mother. Looking to keep her mind sharp, she began to enter contests. In the 1950s and 1960s, writing jingles and slo gans, naming things, or inventing catchy rhymes to win prizes was popu lar as companies hosted “skill” contests to pro mote their products. My mother entered them all, usually in ‘25 words or less.’ As it turned out, she had a knack for it. Prizes ranged from modest cash amounts or inexpensive items to fabu lous awards such as cars, vacations, and houses. Many were judged by D. Ryan ... page A-5 THE BRADFORD LANDMARK SOCIETY THE BRADFORD BRANCH OF AAUW presents a spotlight on Catlin painne r Mary Collins Ryan
Newspaper Details
Bradford Era
Bradford, Pennsylvania, US
Mon, Jan 03, 2022
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 16 Jul 2026
Other Publications Near Bradford, Pennsylvania
Bradford Evening Star and Daily Record
Bradford Star Record
Bradford Era
Bradford Daily Era
