Mollie Woods Hare Explained

Mollie Woods Hare
Birth Name:Mollie Ainscow Woods
Birth Date:August 30, 1881
Birth Place:Duncannon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Date:January 19, 1956 (aged 74)
Death Place:Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation:Educator

Mollie Woods Hare (August 30, 1881 – January 19, 1956) was an American educator. In 1913, she founded the Woods Schools in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, serving students with intellectual disabilities.

Early life

Mollie Ainscow Woods was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, the daughter of McClellan Woods and Jean (Jennie) Harkinson Woods. She trained as a teacher at a normal school in Philadelphia,[1] with further studies under Edward Ransom Johnstone at the Vineland Training School in New Jersey.[2] [3]

Career

In 1902, Woods became principal of a Philadelphia public school for "retarded and truant boys". In 1913, Woods and her sister, a nurse, founded the Woods Schools to educate students with intellectual disabilities.[4] It was located in their home in Roslyn, Pennsylvania[5] until 1921, then in Langhorne.[6] On the later, larger campus, she added housing and a Child Research Clinic to expand the school's mission.[7] There were more than 40 buildings in the schools' complex by 1948.[8] The schools became a private non-profit run by a board of trustees when she retired as its director in 1949.[9]

In 1939, Hare received an honorary degree from Temple University,[10] [11] and traveled to Geneva as a delegate to the Congress of the International Association for the Education of Exceptional Children.[12]

Personal life and legacy

Mollie A. Woods married John Ridgeway Hare in 1919.[13] Her husband died in 1944,[14] and she died in 1956, at the age of 74, in Langhorne.[15] A historical marker about Hare was placed in Langhorne in 2010.[16] The Woods Schools continued after her death,[17] [18] though changing professional practices, laws, and social expectations shaped the school over the decades.[19] Woods Services is now a national network of programs for disabled clients of all ages. Woods Services gives an annual Mollie Award, named for Hare, to outstanding employees.[20] [21]

Notes and References

  1. News: January 21, 1956 . Mrs. Mollie Hare, Founded Schools; Leader in Special Education of Retarded Children in Pennsylvania Is Dead . en-US . The New York Times . July 17, 2022 . 0362-4331.
  2. News: September 22, 1952 . Elected Woods School President; Succeeds Mollie Woods Hare . 1 . The Bristol Daily Courier . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  3. June 1939 . Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare . The Training School Bulletin . 36 . 4 . 76 . Internet Archive.
  4. Woods Services, About Us.
  5. News: February 2, 1917 . Backward Children's Minds Trained by Two Young Women . 9 . Evening Public Ledger . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  6. Book: The Handbook of Private Schools . 1926 . P. Sargent. . 547 . en.
  7. Web site: Women's History . July 17, 2022 . Langhorne Council for the Arts . en.
  8. News: January 20, 1948 . Man Hurt in Woods Schools Fire . 21 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: June 6, 1947 . Woman Seeks School Charter; Duncannon Native . 17 . Harrisburg Telegraph . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  10. News: June 16, 1939 . 1224 in Temple Graduating Class Hear Appeal by Dr. Heiser for U.S. Health Conservation . 4 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  11. News: June 22, 1939 . Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare Receives Degree . 1 . Duncannon Record . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  12. October 1939 . The Woods School Represented at International Congress . Journal of Exceptional Children . 6 . 1 . 38 . Internet Archive.
  13. News: August 19, 1919 . Marriage Licenses . 12 . Harrisburg Telegraph . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: February 7, 1944 . John R. Hare Dies at His Home in Langhorne . 1 . The Bristol Daily Courier . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  15. News: January 27, 1956 . Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare . 3 . Duncannon Record . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  16. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=85989 "Mollie Woods Hare"
  17. News: Ying . Diane . December 12, 1968 . Self-Destructive Child Given Chance for Normal Life . 81, 91 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  18. News: Raftery . Kay . August 19, 1984 . At the Woods Schools, Good Cheer Abounds at a Dedication . 266 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  19. News: Woestendiek . John . November 1, 1981 . Strike Raises Questions at Special Bucks School . 1B, 10B, 11B . The Philadelphia Inquirer . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  20. News: May 8, 1994 . Heads Above the Crowd . 210 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.
  21. News: December 18, 1995 . Honors . 86 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . July 17, 2022 . Newspapers.com.

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