Southwest Sierra #88 – Mary Hope

Recently, on the back page of the December 19th Mountain “Mess” under the 70-years ago header there was an item about Naomi Parlor #36 holding their 1954 annual Yule Party. “Mrs. Elliot C. Hope” was complimented on her Santa enactment. I don’t believe it was customary to refer to women by their husband’s name as recently as 1954. Perhaps the author was older at the time. His/her style appears to be in transition because most of the women are referred to by their first and last names. Mrs. Elliot C Hope was none other than Mary Hope of Alleghany. (SS#73 featured a picture of her husband Elliot aka Al). The custom of referring to women as “Mrs. Husband’s Name” is especially frustrating for historians and individuals conducting family research. Intentionally or not, it often erased the women’s individual identities.

Mary Ramona (Veck) Hope was born in Sierraville on September 22,1914 to Mark Veck and Margaret Elaine (Blaisdell) Veck (later M.E. Lambert). Mary was a life-long resident of Sierra County and a long-time resident of both Forest City and Alleghany. Having known Mary in her senior years, I can see how she would have made the perfect Santa Claus! She was a large woman (as in tall and big but not fat) with a roundish body shape. Her hair wasn’t white in 1954, but when I knew her, it was a beautiful snowy white. Kids will be kids, and I’m a little embarrassed to share that my initial relationship with Mary was a bit adversarial (at least I thought that it was, until she set me straight). It all started when I heard the older kids at school talking about her one day. Something about baby skulls in her window! They were speculating that she must be a witch. (Possibly it was old doll heads that she had found bottle digging, I never saw them).

On a daily basis, Mary would be seen driving her old red army jeep around Alleghany. Having copped a bad attitude towards her, whenever she drove past me, I would make faces at her. This went on for a month or so, until one day while I was in the act of making a face she stopped! She said: “I just want you to know that I think those faces you make are so funny!” I wanted to hide! I was so embarrassed. I never made faces at her again, and I started to see her in a different light. During one of my winter stays with Alleghany School Teachers Scott and Teri Humble I got to know Mary better. She was enrolled in the evening adult ceramics class that Teri was teaching, and I attended by default. I found her to be very kind and funny and apologized to her for my face making. She thought that was sweet of me and after that we were friends.

The 1954 Mountain Mess article also mentions Mary’s mother, Margaret E. Lambert as one of the December birthday gift recipients. Margaret was born on December 12, 1892, also in Sierraville. She moved to Downieville after being elected as the County Treasurer, a post that she held for 36 years. Grandson Greg Hope remembers helping her with the thank you cards that she sent to all the taxpayers for paying their taxes! Margaret died on Jan. 17, 1989 at the age of 96.

Back to daughter Mary: “Al” and Mary wed on March 18, 1952 in Downieville. They moved to Forest City, where Al worked for the Vivians who ran the Mugwump Mining Company. Around 1957 or 1958 Al became the road foreman for the County and the family moved to Alleghany. Al preceded Mary in death by several years. In 2002, Mary died two days after her 88th birthday. Her ashes were scattered on the summit of the Sierra Buttes where she could look out at Sierra County in all directions.

Thanks to Mary’s son Greg for providing information for this article.