601 Mary Street Hill is a delightful book to read...Mother gave us a lifetime of good memories...words to live by...assume a virtue though you have it not, and soon the virtue becomes part of you.
                                                                                                 JoAn Jacobson Baria, sister




601 Mary Street Hill began as a Mother's Day thank you to my Mother.  I have added to it to more fully explore our upbringing which was lacking in money but rich in values such as integrity, independence, dependability, honesty, and courage.  We were taught to be good Christians, to love our neighbors and to be decent human beings.  The title could be Any House, Any Street, Any Town in this United States of America.  Our family story is the story of millions of people at that time. They asked for no handouts, but only an opportunity to pursue a chosen path in this great United States of America. 

My career choice is school teacher.  I began my teaching career at Mt. Ovas grade school, the school next door to 601 Mary Street Hill in September 1958.  I had been a student there as a child.  I taught there for four years before transferring to Edgewood Acres on Garrison Avenue and taught there until I resigned to stay home with my children.  I earned a Masters Degree in special education, and later a Doctorate in Educational Administration.  I have taught education classes at Marshall University since 1985, and at Morehead State University since 1990.  I retired in 2008 from Morehead and worked part time until May of 2011.  I have spent time in the last two and a half year writing the memoir of my childhood.  However, journal writing and poetry writing have been a habit with me since I first learned to write. 
I have always loved to read.  I believe it is the single most important thing we teach children.  It would be my honor for people to read my scribbles and be touched by things that I have written.