The problem of proper milk inspection may seem of little consequence today with modern food handling methods, but in the 1920s the quality of milk was a major health concern. In those days, dairies frequently delivered milk door to door to their small-town customers. With poor sterilization techniques and a shortage of containers, many milk providers re-used containers they had just picked up from one household and poured fresh milk into the same container to deliver to the next household, without knowing or caring whether the containers had been cleaned properly.
This dangerous routine raised concerns for town residents, none more so than Mary C. Crowell, then a young woman of independent means who made safe milk one of many health-related concerns to which she dedicated her life as a volunteer. In an effort to have quality milk distributed to the residents in her hometown of Warren, Mary C. Crowell actively complained of the conditions in which milk was being sold. Her tireless commitment led to her appointment as Warren's first official milk inspector in 1921, a position she held for the lofty compensation of $25 per year, apparently the only paid position she ever had. Mary, a petite woman barely 5 feet tall and about 90 pounds, went up against the town's milk providers, who at the time were all men. She reported on the filthy and indescribable conditions of their milk sheds. Pat Reed, president of the Massasoit Historical Society, explained that Mary was a strong lady, a quality needed to effectively perform the job duties of milk inspector. Her will and determination for healthy and clean milk is best noted in her first report to the town council when she turned over to the chief of police the names of 26 men who were selling milk without proper licenses.
Mary contributed several years as milk inspector, but her devotion in helping her community did not end there. After graduating from Pembroke College with a Masters degree in 1910, Mary became a member of the Warren District Nursing Association where she worked actively as a volunteer for more than 60 years. Dr. Leo Jacobson, president of the association, was quoted at the association's 50th anniversary dinner in 1961 as saying that Mary was the member who has done more for the organization than anyone in its history. The association dedicated its 50th anniversary booklet in her honor.
Mary's philanthropic heart benefited both the Warren District Nursing Association and the Rhode Island Lung Association. Jean MacCorison, former director of the Lung Association, remembers Mary's undiminished loyalty and energy. She was always ready to take on assignments, MacCorison said. She was not afraid of taking on the responsibility. One of Mary's duties was to coordinate the first local chest mobile in Warren. It was the first portable x-ray unit on wheels, MacCorison said. She was on the job every day and would even bring in her own freshly baked jellyrolls for the crew. No project was too small or too big for her, and she knew exactly what needed to be done, according to MacCorison, who recalls how Mary sold Christmas Seals for years throughout town to raise much-needed funds.
Family History
Mary Crowell descended from a long line of early Warren settlers. Mary's great-grandfather Samuel Carr was the sixth generation of Carrs, including the Carr brothers of Newport and Jamestown. Richard and Caleb Carr were prominent and well-known men in their respective towns. Richard held various political positions in Newport as did his brother Caleb in Jamestown who later became Governor of Rhode Island, although only for a few months due to his untimely death. Mary's grandmother was Rebecca S. Barton, a descendant of General William Barton, also a native of Warren. William B. Crowell, a merchant and a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts and Georgina Carr Crowell, Mary's parents, married in 1880 when they were 49 and 37 respectively. Mary was not born until five years later, which may explain why she was an only child.
"She was a character", George Giraud, co-executor of Mary's estate said. "She lived quietly and modestly on the second floor of the house that belonged to her parents. She always was a very generous person. At the end of every year she would take the bus into Providence to my office and make gifts to various organizations. She would even bring me a gift, usually a book or something like that." Giraud explained that Mary received a modest inheritance that, with passage of time, good investment and a strong stock market enabled her to devote her life to volunteering. She was a delightful woman. She had a very good mind and was quite outspoken.
Giraud is not the only person who remembers Mary's outspoken attitude. Pat Reed of the Massasoit Historical Society says Mary made sure that the right people knew that she was unhappy with certain issues. She was an educated woman with strong principles who always wrote wonderful letters to the Providence Journal when she was displeased with something. Despite that strong will, though, MacCorison added that, above everything, she was always a lady.
Despite being known as a quiet, not particularly social person in the area, Mary's devotion clearly was health-oriented issues. She was one of four individuals named honorary members of the Rhode Island Lung Association, where she was a former director. Even when age and health no longer allowed her to be physically present at the Martin House, the headquarters for the Warren District Nursing Association, Mary called every day to check how things were going. Mary was also a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church and the George Hail Library.
Towards the end of her life, she asked George Giraud what she should do with her money once she passed on. He suggested the Foundation would keep her generosity alive. Mary was an only child with no close relatives, Giraud said. Through The Rhode Island Foundation she would still be able to contribute. A designated fund worth $428,000 was established in 1975 when Mary died at age 90. The fund, now worth $1.8 million, benefits the Rhode Island Lung Association, IN-SIGHT, and the Providence Boys and Girls Club.
Reconstructing Mary's life has been difficult. She was an only child, unmarried and childless. Most of the organizations for whom she volunteered have few remaining written records of her service. Having outlived virtually all of her contemporaries, the record of her life is fast disappearing. But perhaps no message, no lasting remembrance is more important than Jean MacCorison's on why Mary had dedicated her life to volunteering: "Mary felt herself fortunate and the need to serve others."
