What are some other activities you were involved in on campus (or off campus) while in Menomonie?
My priorities were mostly playing sports whenever the opportunity presented: softball, basketball, volleyball, short-lived track opportunity.
I needed to work part-time at home and later on-campus and of course pay some attention to my studies, which I was interested in, didn't ignore, but didn't always budget time to do my best with everything else as a priority at that time.
You were involved in the Wausau teacher's union and were the chair of the union. How did you get involved in that part of your career? What stands out from your history with that?
Great full-time job, great school, great community, and white privilege, worker friendly environment, all of these going for me personally. The reality of being a woman, having children. Many find themselves re-building the position they gave up to have a family. I was no different.
I had given up coaching to have a family in 1980. The team came close to advancing to the state level in 1981 and 1982, with a good coach, but unfortunately didn't see the value of continuing to build the team at the younger levels.
A seniority issue, an administration attitude, "Mary wants to be home with her kids." This was true, but Mary wanted to pay her bills also. I took a leave of absence in 1985. It took to 1992 to get back to full time, luckily in my same teaching job. I was one of the fortunate folks. Some are not as lucky, especially in other fields of work.
In 2007, since I had some experience working with the union issues, and there was need for leadership, I agreed to the president's position. Well, our union decided to issue a letter of concern the first year with some improvement, but later escalated to a letter of no confidence. The short story is, he left, I stayed! I did decide to retire in 2010, unrelated to the superintendent's situation. Unfortunately, if time is taken to build trust and quality communication, these situations can be prevented. Oh well.
On your Hall of Fame questionnaire, you said your biggest thrill was the opportunity to play college ball, after a limited opportunity in high school. Did you ever dream of playing college ball while you were in high school? What did you play in high school? I know there were not a lot of opportunities for girls outside of GAA (and other like organizations). How did you get involved in Stout athletics?
GAA was the only avenue of sports for girls when I was in high school. It was an average GAA (Girls Athletic Association), playing seasonal sports, not much else until my junior year. Miss Stein came, added fun, skills and expanded the program. But it was good to interact with the town kids. I was from Wilson, used to chasing cows, not balls.
I did play softball in my country school, (Wilson) a total of 26 students of mixed grades. A one-room schoolhouse until the consolidation with Spring Valley in approximately 1962. The boys let me play with them. They were shorthanded and needed a pitcher (half slow pitch & half fast pitch}. I had a decent arm, so they let me play. I was also willing to shag balls and play anywhere so I filled in wherever they told me to. I loved it!
I have heard stories about how hard it was for women to get time on the court during the early part of the 70s. What was your athletic schedule like? i.e., did the women have to take the leftover practice times? What was traveling to games like? When were your games? What kind of crowds attended?
Yes, this is very true!
We had a sprinkling (of spectators), a few friends, but with schedule changes and odd hours of playing, it was tough to build a following. Also, there were inconsistencies in scheduling at the last minute etc. in women's intramural games, schedule changes, times, days etc. The men's intramural had precedence over the women's traveling team for gym time. They often changed our game times with very little notice. It made it difficult to balance work schedules with practice and game times.
The times didn't bother me so much. Though not my first choice, it was still an opportunity to play! Our basketball practices were most often 6:30 am or later evening. I wasn't privy to the budget, but we traveled and played either three or four volleyball matches or basketball games over a weekend and we got one or two dollars each for a meal. We purchased our shorts and shoes. Stout furnished our jerseys, which I think we shared with volleyball.
Our cushy vehicles consisted of Stout station wagons with three or four students packed in the back seats with the equipment tucked in and around the remaining crevices. We learned to sleep in the most creative and awkward positions, returning from our warrior road trips with hydration and electrolyte deprivation totally out of our awareness. We also had a player as a driver. I was often one of the player car drivers. I would bet all of us made it to our first Monday morning class. However, we didn't have many four-year participants. Those schedules silently took their tolls on building a healthy program. Despite all of this, we had fun!
Apparently, your Stout athletic career had a big influence on you as you started the girls' basketball program at Wausau West.
West opened in 1970, girls' basketball was in all schools in the Wisconsin Valley Conference except for Wausau West. There were a couple strong programs, D.C Everest and Marshfield. The rest were average teams at the time.
West had no budget, no equipment, no gym space, no willing coach except me. What we did have was a handful of very enthusiastic girls that had little to no experience but really wanted to play, great kids!
So, in 1975, the hunt for equipment, uniforms, scheduling, referees, etc. never mind a budget! We borrowed balls from the physical education department, uniforms (the ones with legal numbers) from the volleyball coach. We scheduled around all of the other sports, including some early morning and evening practices. The athletic director found some funds for referees. I volunteered my time as the only coach for a varsity and a JV team.
So…the building began.
Note: I wanted to start a team in 1973-74 but I had a long-term subcontract only, feeling it risky for the program to start, then not get hired back. After signing a regular contract for 1974-75, I felt more secure to start and commit to a girls' basketball program. I coached for five years before my husband and I decided we wanted to start a family and we had a good JV coach willing to take the position. I was disappointed that he didn't invest more time in continuing the clinics and camps for the JV program. That's where the success comes from, darn!
You played during an era when women's sports were really just getting their start. Title IX was passed while you were in college. You were on some of the first varsity programs, then you helped to bring opportunities to high school girls. Do you see yourself as a trendsetter or a trailblazer? What advice do you have for women and girls competing today?
I've reflected and emphasized many of the opportunities and joys of creating/developing a sports team, which I prefer to remember and focus on. There are also many challenges and setbacks that occur along the way with or without Title IX.
Title IX became the guiding law in 1972 to more justly equalize educational/sports programs. Well, not everyone got the memo. Some haven't gotten it yet today.
I would identify more closely with the "trailblazer" label. Once you set your goals and identify what must come together to make it happen, you still need to work with others, adjust your goals or methods of achieving them. Some people may have a similar vision, some may not, but you must work with them.
For me personally, for the most part, I had understanding coaches and athletic directors that worked with me the best they could without upsetting the other coaches. They had an equilibrium to maintain, to keep peace, a balance within the established programs, including the community. Change itself can often be a challenge for all of us, I understood, appreciated the gains we made.
Reality: you never knew if practice could truly be a normal practice because the wrestling coach decided that day, extra room was needed because of a big match coming up, or the boys basketball teams needed all of the courts that day. Oops, the visiting boys' team is here and they always use the girls' locker room. The girls weren't always seen as a priority especially when skill levels were just beginning. You can fill in the blanks. Title IX was important. It was in the background, but invisible day-to-day. It was imperative to build relationships beforehand and work together. My situation was good, still with challenges. Not everyone had those luxuries.
We had a district policy that programs had to have 30 players out for the sport for three weeks before you could have a second coach. If you didn't make that number, congratulations… you had the opportunity to coach the junior varsity along with the varsity, with the same pay. After the first year of volunteer coaching, the pay was bumped up to 3%, wow!
In 1977 or 78, by then we were qualifying for two coaches each year. I filed a lawsuit for equal pay, with, at the time, Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations (DILHR), now called Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. After months of investigation, they determined that I should not get equal pay because I was not responsible for four or five coaches like the boys' program. I found that interesting, a true catch 22!
Thank you for this opportunity to reflect and remember the many challenging but fun, worthwhile sports adventures. I continue to stay in touch with many of the early players that I coached. (They are the true trailblazers). It is fun to see them in the community contributing in many ways. That is the true and deep benefit /motivation being a part of a sports program and other programs that engage kids providing inspiration, confidence and success.
I am honored to be a part of Stout's women sports history. I thank you for your personal inspiration and willingness to revive the history and inviting my story and my perspectives.
