The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1944-10-05

Saipan to tell you about DR.. Mary
Lathrop of Denver.
Invites Six Boys
Whep the Japs struck at Pearl
Harbor she got mad and decided to
Join the scrap. She tried serving
I on committees for service mems
centers and gave freely of her time
and money, but things didn't work
out TO her complete satisfaction.
So one night she invited six boys
from Lowry and Buckley fields.
! FitZsimons General Hospital and
Fort Logan to join her for dinner
at a leading Denver hotel. When
it was all over she was pleased to
find that both she and the six boys
| had had a swell time.
Next week it was ~ boys and
then 1t became 90 and once or twice
it got up TO 100 young fellows from
/ tn Denve; military installations
and others as far away as Fort
Francis K. Warren at Cheyenne.
Wyo.. eterson field and Camp Car.
son at Colorado Springs. Colo.
Dinners Now institutions
So her. dinners became institu-
tons for the military population
every Saturday night and every
holiday eve.
Or. Lathrop never tries to handle
the situation alone. but invites
few OF Denver's leading citizens to
join her at her CT. dinners. so the
boys have someone TO talk things
over with. Mostly she just sits and
listens, and says word now and
then, and looks at lot OF pictures
of wives AMI babies and mothers
and sweethearts. She gets great
kick out OF the boys and their ad
venturous tales of their experiences
and particularly from their at.
tempts to shock" her.
Sometimes. however. one OF the
lads will get DR.. Lathrop herself to
open up. and then the fellows
will sit around in wonderment at
the little old lady who looks like
she'd better be home knitting. For
she can spin many yarns OF adj
venture and thrill.
It's easy enough for her. Her
whole story has been one OF adven-
ture. starting back in the Quaker
days of Philadelphia. But her
personal blood and thunder" mar
rative began when she was a lass
OF IS and her fiance died. just 10
days before their wedding date,
just year before the death of her
father.
In those days. married Quaker
women did no job hunting. so young
Mary inherited the task Of support
ing herself and her mother. Her
method was to charm a publisher
into letting her become a news re-
porter-something which must have
been down her alley, for she cover
ed such juicy assignments as the
national conventions which nomi-
mated Grover Cleveland and Benja-
min Harrison for president.
Becomes Reporter
Irregular hours, the tempo of
newspaper life and the work broke
her health and forced her into the
West, where in a few months she
became a Denver reporter.
Then the swift. rushing stories
OF the old West became her meat
and she covered the gold camps,
the record shipments OF silver, the
Indian wars. land feuds and even,
at one time, a San FRANCISCO race
war OF Chinese laborers and other
foreign elements. She was there
when knives were thrown and guns
were shot and men died suddenly.
Vividly, accurately and with a
distinctive style, she filed her re-
ports-reports which few months
later won for her a decoration
from the Chinese government for
her assistance in settling the trou.
BILE.
Then Colorado became a state
and Mary Lathrop enrolled at Den