Mary B. S. Bailey, Lancaster, Massachusetts

Mary Belle Sophronia Bailey (1871-1957), a native Lancastrian, was born in the Ponakin area of town. Before her 1938 retirement, she devoted 35 years of her life to the teaching profession, serving as a music teacher and supervisor in the Lancaster school. She is fondly remembered by longtime residents as a kind but strict teacher who always wore long skirts down to her ankles and shirtwaist blouses with white collars and cuffs. Bailey, a member of the Evangelical Congregational Church, was choir director and organist for 36 years and was always active in the charitable works of her church, town, and community.
Courtesy of Lancaster Historical Society