In addition to may other roles,
Mary Kay has held roles as the former SOHPS Vice President, Co Chair of
the 2005 and 2007 Gems of South Orange Home Tour and is a Founding
Member of the South Orange Historical and Preservation Society. Mary Kay
Mitchell also owns the distinction of being honored by South Orange
Village as the , Villager of the Month -October 2006.
An interview with Mary Kay
Mitchell, Board Member SOHPS
by a Friend of South Orange History - Nancy Heins-Glaser
10 Reasons Why Old Stone House Preservation
Project was started by a Founding Member of the South Orange Historical
and Preservation Society.
Interviewer - Nancy Heins-Glaser
- Mary Kay Mitchell has 25 years of perseverance in pursuit of most
favored building status for the Old Stone House. She shares with us the
following 10 reasons why she got and stays involved for the Preservation
of arguably the oldest dateable structure in South Orange – known as the
"Old Stone House".
Preserving South Orange History.
-
An inherent belief in the truly historic nature of
Old Stone House, despite everyone saying in initial discussions,
that Old Stone House had no historic value
-
That each successive step in process of saving and
preserving the Old Stone House and in general within our country has
been - asking questions, getting answers to propel important
information before all the citizens of South Orange……there are wars,
and then recoveries, rethinking of positions, and that is part of a
process of accepting responsibility for our town…..our state/our
country - any country.
-
That this town while not unique in itself - except by
virtue of having more history than many other towns….this is being
repeated across our state and country, some folks pursue historic
preservation more vigorously than South Orange has.
-
At the time her husband was running for office and
her husband's team of running mates believed it was time for a
change when he ran for office in 1987 and it was time to move things
in the right direction.
-
She has a very strong belief in the power of one
person to make a difference, but requiring many along the way to
support and sustain the effort. This Old Stone House preservation
effort has required support of many people during different phases
of the process and she has been unwavering in her support of this
preservation effort.
-
Throughout the years, there has not always been a
clear release of information from our town's Board of Trustees --
thus making and finding solutions much more difficult. When there is
lack of appropriate information, a small group of historians cannot
not always make valid recommendations or support the decisions being
presented to them.
-
Mary Kay believes in reaching out to and
letting/helping new residents understand the vitality and importance
of the Old Stone House. Why some taxes are needed and why there is a
direct connection to their kids and their own families, not only now
but for future generations. This will benefit future generations of
kids and adults, her family and others.
-
An interesting point made was that the longest owner
of the Old Stone House is the Village of South Orange and that many
compromises have had to be reached along the way. However now we
find ourselves in an unpleasant situation at this juncture and more
compromise may be needed to preserve this structure.
-
The Old Stone House is directly behind her home - in
her back yard and is very visible every day. She surmised that all
of these points should resonate well with the new Board of Trustee
members. All of whom appear to have gathered as a core group and
worked hard to address the quarry situation since the quarry was in
their backyard.
-
Mary Kay believes it’s a fundamental right to find
solutions to improving and restoring things all along the way -
such as has been done for he soccer/playing fields through the
schools; the Arts programs and fundraisers for all those things
which parents see are important for their kids. She states think of
all the sports teams in the community and in the schools - which
have been maintained through countless potlucks, fundraisers…etc.
In closing , Mary Kay
Mitchell has a sincere belief and that it is all our responsibilities as
citizens to pick themselves up by bootstraps….do what they need to do to
become active in order to preserve, restore, maintain South Orange
History. Mary Kay states emphatically "How will you explain to your
kids and grandkids why the building was torn down and not preserved!" |
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Mary
Kay and Family Celebrates