Mary Lou Berry interviewed by Richard Ade - April 20, 2001

• Berry, Mary Lou

Richard Ade Interviews

CAN YOU PLEASE STATE YOUR FULL NAME?

Mary Lou Chapman Berry.

AND WHEN WERE YOU BORN?

I was born January 6, 1928

HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE IN YOUR FAMILY?

I was the only child of my mother's second marriage but I had five half brothers and a half sister who were all older than me.

WHAT WAS YOUR FATHER'S OCCUPATION?

He was a business man here in Bethel. He had a garage. He was a mechanic. He went into logging and then he converted his gas station into a bowling alley on Main Street and that was a big center of recreation for many years. He ran it for many years…I can’t tell you exactly how many. But, he sold it and bought it back about three times. So, when he died in 1969 at the age of 79, he had just sold it again to another man in Bethel. But, he spent all his life there and I did to.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOTHER'S OCCUPATION?

Well, she worked a lot with his business, but basically she was a mother and a housewife.

WHAT WAS UFE LIKE AT HOME?

It was wonderful. I had a good, good life. I was spoiled rotten by my father grandmother and everybody. They all lived right around. I was born here right here on Main Street..you know where Mother's Restaurant is? That's the house I was born in. The bowling alley and my father’s business was in that empty lot. The building burned down about eight or nine years ago. My whole life is Main Street, Bethel.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR GRANDPARENTS?

I remember my father's mother. She's the only one of my grandparents that I remember. On both sides, they came from Newry, Maine.

WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR EARLIEST MEMORIES?

Of Bethel?

OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.

Oh dear. I don't know. I guess I was always very happy with my life. I didn't have too many complaints. Every body said I was spoiled, but that's all right. We had a cottage out on Somber Pond when I was about seven years old... seven or eight. We spent a lot of time out there. My folks liked to travel. Back in those years, it wasn't something that was really done a lot and we went to Florida a couple of times. My dad was pretty successful so we had kind of a good life.

WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR MOST IMPORTANT EARLY INFLUENCES?

Oh dear. I can remember a man who used to be superintendent of schools. And, if I remember right, his name was Bowden. I can remember him coming to my father's business and I always tried to impress him about how smart I was... that I could do addition and that I could write and so on and so forth.. because he was the superintendent of schools.. .I really thought I was impressing him. But, I can remember.. .he kind of stands out in my mind. Also, the people who owned the house over here on the corner, W.R. Chapman, I don't know if there is a distant relationship between that name and my father's Chapman's. But, they say that somewhere way back, we're all kind of related. Mr. Chapman used to do business with my father and I can remember being very impressed by him. I was very little, too. One of my earliest memories is having him carry me up Main Street and into his big house over here and they had a huge, enormous Christmas tree. I can remember being very impressed over that tree!

WHERE DID YOU FIRST GO TO SCHOOL?

I went to the Ethel Bisbee school, which was then Bethel Primary, I guess. Then, I went to the grammar school and then graduated from Gould Academy.

DID YOU GO ON TO SCHOOL AFTER THAT?

No, I didn't. I went to hairdressing school for many years after that and became a hairdresser and I did that for my young adult years. But, I did not go on to college, much to the disappointment of my father. He was very upset at me.

WHAT WERE YOUR TEACHERS LIKE?

Ethel Bisbee was just a wonderful, wonderful lady. Maxine Clough and Ms. Ballard. They are three from the primary grades that I remember with much love. In grammar school ..Gwenn Stearns and Mr. Drummond were probably two of my absolute favorites. Then, of course, at Gould, Mr. Fossett and Wilbur Myers.. .they were two of my great favorites.

WHAT SPORTS DID YOU PLAY DURING YOUR SCHOOL DAYS?

Basketball. Archery. Softball…I loved skating. I never liked skiing but I did like skating.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES?

Hobbies…Um, somewhere along.. of course my mother died when I was quite young, somewhere along the line, somebody taught me how to do embroidery and that's about the only crafty thing that I ever learned. I can't knit or crochet or any of those good things. But, I love to cook. So, that makes up for a lot of things that I didn't learn.

WHAT WERE YOUR FAVORITE TIMES?

In Gould.. my four years at Gould.

CARE TO SHARE IT?

We just had such a great time. When you remember back at those times, it wasn’t the school work and it wasn't difficult..the things you had to do. The things I remember most are the formal dances and going to all the games and just being a party of the hoopdy-do and having a good time. It was... it was a good time.

DO YOU HAVE ANY UNPLEASANT MEMORIES OF YOUR SCHOOL DAYS?

Well, Mr. Scott. He was an American history teacher at Gould and he was tough. He was more than tough. He was awful. But, my present husband got along with him beautifully, as did most boys. I don't think he liked girls. He was a good teacher, but I didn't like his manner. I think probably if you've interviewed anyone else who lives in Bethel they probably agree... at least in the years he was there. He was tough.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT GROWING UP?

All my life, I guess. It was good. It was tough after my mother died.

WHAT DID YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT GROWING UP?

Course, that was during the second World War and they were difficult times for a lot of people. I guess perhaps it's the fact there were so many young fellows in Bethel who had gone away to the war and some of them didn't come back. My brother was in Germany... in Belgium when my mother died. That was a tough thing and we couldn't get him home. That was the sad time.. .the hard times. You should, I guess, expect things like that to be in your life. It can't all be roses.

WHERE DID YOU FIRST WORK?

My first job was right over here at the Bethel Inn in the dining room. I was 16 years old. I remember my first pay check.for a month of work. It was $39.00. I though I was really wealthy.. .I did! It seems though my mother probably paid probably almost that much for my shoes because she didn't want my legs or my feet to get tired while I was working. I loved it and had a great time.

WHERE DID YOU WORK AFTER THAT?

Well, I went to Boston and I got married and I didn't work for about three years. Then, I
went to hairdressing school and then I worked in two different salons and I worked 20
years at it. That's pretty much what I did.. and raised my children.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT WORLD WAR II?

Oh well. What is it they say.. "It was the best of times.. it was the worst of times...". I think you lived very, hopefully, getting all the happiness you could out of every day because there was a lot of sadness. And, strange enough being way back up in here in Maine, I don't think we suffered that much due to lack of anything during the war. I'm sure we ate like everybody else did. The only thing that was really so terrible was when one of the boys got killed and didn't come home. That was tough.

WHAT U.S. PRESIDENT DID YOU LIKE BEST?

Kennedy.

WHY?

Because he was young and vibrant and a Democrat... (Laughs). That helps. I don't know. I think it was Camelot and the whole thing was something that people liked to watch and see how they lived and what they did. Of course, I lived in Boston at that time and so I was kind of more aware of it. But, I liked him the best. Nobody's ever asked me that.. ..as a matter of fact, I never thought of who it was that I would have liked the best. But, I think it was him.

WHAT PRESIDENT DID YOU LIKE THE LEAST?

I suppose it isn't fair to say Bush. Dubyah..., that is. I did not like Bill Clinton. I guess Nixon is the one I liked the least. Politics didn't concern me that much.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES YOU HAVE NOTED IN YOUR LIFETIME?

Oh, I suppose the strides in medicine. If they knew then what they know now, my mother would have lived beyond 52. I guess in medicine and sciences.. at least in my mind are the most important that I've seen.

WHEN DID YOU MARRY?

I married the first time in 1946.. right out of high school. My husband died and I came back to Bethel ten years ago and met my high school sweet heart. His wife had died. So, we hit it off like crazy and we've been married for ten years. I couldn't be happier…..unless I was 30 years younger. If I could back it up to be 30 again, that would be nice.

WHERE DID YOU LIVE AFTER YOU GOT MARRIED?

I lived in a suburb of Boston and surrounding areas there for 43 years.

WHAT WAS THE OCCUPATION OF YOUR HUSBAND?

He was a construction engineer.

WHAT WERE SOME OF HIS HOBBIES?

He loved hunting.. collecting coins... and cooking. He was a good cook, too.

WHAT ARE YOUR CHILDREN LIKE?

I have two daughters who are absolutely wonderful people. One will be 51 tomorrow and the other one will be 54 in June. And the oldest daughter lives in Florida and my youngest daughter lives in Walpole, MA and I just was presented with a great-grandson arid he's totally beautiful.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN BETHEL?

Well, I came back to Bethel about ten years ago. And, always came back to Bethel during my other life. We had a cottage out at Sombre.. .my dad owned the cottage but he gave it to me. We used to come back there all the time. Every summer... My husband came up and he went hunting with my father and he loved Sunday River...

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THIS AREA?

The people.. they are really wonderful. I think, living in Boston during the years that I lived there, I thing 1 missed the most was the people that I knew. It used to kill me that you could walk down the street and not see a soul that would say hello to you. But, I come in to town to Bethel and my husband gets upset because I've been gone to long since I'd been talking to everybody. But, I love the town

WHAT DO YOU LIKED LEAST ABOUT THIS AREA?

Oh.. well.. ..and you can't do anything about it because it's the remoteness of not being able to get a plane from Bethel who can connect you with the rest of the world. You either have to drive... to get anywhere. There is no train service. There's no bus service. There used to be all of those things. I guess that would be the only thing. I can't think of anything that I would want to change.

WHO WAS THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER?

Oh my word. I don't know who I'd say for that.. because there are a few characters.
There used to be a little man around here by the name of Guy Crouse. He was a
character. I don't know. Um, Alvin Carroll. He was the pharmacist at Bosserman's
Drug Store and he was a character.

WHY?

He was a delightful person. He always had a big “Hi, How Are You!” when you came into the store. And, he wore knickers. I never saw him in anything but knickers for his entire life. I can't think of who else. I guess maybe my father was one of the biggest characters in Bethel. He was all right too. We all have our faults and he had a few, but that's okay.

WHAT COMMUNITY SERVICES ARE YOU CONTRIBUTING TO?

Not many. I'm very busy, living out in Newry. There is an awful lot out there to keep me busy. I love reading and I love writing. I write a lot of letters. The historical society..that's basically pretty much..if we do anything, that's where it would be at. And, of course, my husband was a teacher at Gould for years and retired from there. Do you know Mrs. Berry? That's my daughter in law. It's her father in law, Dave Berry's father, Francis Berry, who taught at Gould. He graduated from there. Went to Bates and then taught in a couple of other places and then came back to Gould and then taught there for years and retired from there. My husband's pretty good though... up to the skating rink over here he made the benches and donated them for that and he's good about doing things like that. But see, he's the crafly man, I'm not.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE SOME OF YOUR MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS?

Well, it certainly wouldn't be political. I don't know. Just things that had to do with our family, I guess. I don't want to have anything to do with running Newry or Sunday River or Bethel. Let them do their own thing. I'm not interested.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT TO GIVE A YOUNG PERSON BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCES?

Be honest. That's got to come first. Yes, be honest, I guess, to me, is most important. Unless, your honesty would hurt somebody, then you could temper it a little bit and not be quite so honest.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HUMOUROUS STORIES?

My dear, if I told you the stories that I know about Bethel that thing [tape recorder] would explode! You know it! My husband would say the same thing too. We know a lot of stories. . but not something that you would sit down and have recorded for posterity. I don't think that would be a good idea (LAUGHING).

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE?

In 1994, Hi and I, went along with Bill and Mick Cousins, he was also a teacher at Gould, and Alberta and Neil Merrill, we had a motor home and we traveled across country and went ... we were gone for eight weeks. The most surprising thing was we came home still good friends. Eight weeks with two other couples can get pretty pinchy sometimes. We had a wonderful time. I saw things that I thought I would never see. It was really a wonderful experience.

WHAT WAS YOUR WORST MEMORY?

The worst. Oh, god, I suppose that harps back to World War II. Friends that never came back. .it has to be. Because other than that, I really and truly have been a very fortunate person and have had a good life. I had good parents. Can't complain.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE?

Well, maybe just the fact that when I came back to Maine.. ..came back to Bethel.. .ten years ago, no one could have a better life than what I have had with my husband. It has been truly wonderful and everybody who knows me knows that. I guess that's all.