"My Story"

My Story about

Momma:

I have always wanted to write a book about my mother,

I always felt it would make a wonderful movie to see

about her life also but I am not a great writer by any

means so I will just try to write the things that were

important in her life as I can best remember them.

I will also try to tell of her last days here and the

battle she fought to stay alive on dialysis.

Birth: mom was born in Sharon Penn. on March 7th 1921

Her name was Mary Kroy, she was the child of a czechoslovakian

emigrant, Mary Ferko, who I am told really treated her bad.

At the age of 4 she contracted Scarlet Fever and Measles and

because of this the high fever burned the tissues in her eyes

causing her to go blind. Her mother would often times beat

her and call her a cockeyed SOB, What a pity she did not even

know what a wonderful child she had in spite of her blindness.

I guess Grandma always felt it was a curse that she had a blind

child sent to her because of some sin she had committed. Mom

was a Blessing not a curse ! Grandma was the blind one to not

have seen this......

She did not let her blindness defeat her though, at the age of 5 she

began taking piano lesson and went on to learn to play organ,

harmonica, accordion, and she also learned to dance as well.

She could do the two step, polka, waltz as well as anyone who could

see; I remember when I was younger dancing with mom, Oh

my what sweet memories. :+)

So many things I remember about mom; she taught me to cook

and all the other things that a sighted person would teach

their young girls but looking back, it must not have been easy.

The most important thing that my mother taught me was to love

life and every one in it, to look for the best even in the worst of

people to honor and respect others and to never ever make fun

of anyone's handicaps: "Your not dead yet, and you never know

what will happen to you before you die," was one of her most

used phrases, especially if I was caught making fun of someone.

She would make cakes from scratch, not box mixes, and she made

the best homemade fudge, (to learn that being blind deserves a

medal ) for I still haven't mastered that, mine is either to hard

or to soft...but Mom seemed to be able to do anything she set her

mind to. She never let anything defeat her, She may have been

hindered by things in life but never defeated !!!

Mom went to Chaney High School in Youngstown, Ohio, she

went on to go to college at Ohio State University, after two

years, she met my dad; Edward Hougland, she left college

and married him and raised two girls; Myself and sister

Ruth Ann. She had two miscarriages and two born dead.

In 1951 one of the babies that was born dead had caused

peritonitis to set up and she nearly died with the baby. I

remember the priest coming and giving her what is called

"LAST RITES" but she fooled everyone and God gave her

a miracle because she pulled through and lived many

years after and went on to do many great things.

Mom was an achiever and a real go-getter ! She worked

during the war at a place that sorted nuts and bolts .In 1947

on June 12th I came along so she spent awhile at home raising

my sister and I. In 1968 she went to work at the Ohio Bureau

of Employment Services, She had her own concession stand

there, (which she fought long and hard to get.) She was one

of the founding members of Ohio Blind Venders, Which took

Courage in those days because the bureau was against the

establishment of a united organization of Blind Venders. She

served as secretary and she also made speeches before Congress

on behalf of the Blind Venders of which I am told she had

standing ovations !

In March of 1997, The Ohio Blind Venders recognition awards

were established and the "Mary Bishop"Membership Commitment

award bears her name because and I quote "She typified what it

meant to be a worker among Workers." Anyone who receives

that award will be getting the Mary Bishop award. How truly

deserving she was to receive this. :+)

She was on the Board of Directors for Central Ohio Radio

Reading Service (CORRS) in which she provided

suggestions about what news, educational, and

entertainment programming blind people wanted and

needed. She also was a interviewer for the radio show.

She interviewed Angela Pace after her national

appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show, The Governor of

Ohio, and many more to numerous to mention. She

also received an award from the Radio station for

her years of service and support.

She received a plaque for Appreciation of 20 years of service

to the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services.

She received the Charles W. Medick "Outstanding Visually

Impaired Citizen of Ohio" Award on April 21,1983 for

Achievement in her chosen field, her contributions to

the community, and the example she sets for others.

Her life did not go unnoticed she was appreciated

and loved by all that came in contact with her.

All the things mom did she did not only being blind but

she suffered most of her life with severe arthritis: which

because of medication taken for this dreaded disease is what

caused her to have renal failure and need to go on dialysis.

Click here to read about Mom and Dialysis.

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Refer a friend who is having trouble reading because of a visual or physical problem to the local Radio Reading Service. Click on Tower to take you there... ;+)

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