On the cusp of her 80th birthday, Mary got ready for her special day. She fastened a new lace collar for her old black dress and pinned her white hair into a low bun. [1] Her glasses were polished, her hands clean, and shoes tidy.
It was the summer of 1928, and Mary stood in front of the camera man’s massive portrait lens. Her right hand was clasped over her left, resting on her stomach. She was poised but could not help but show a slight smile. It was the good humor that she got from her father.
As she stood still, her eyes showed a story of grief, endurance, and kindness. Life could not, and never would, make her bitter. Little did Mary know that this camera would capture her personality well, hinting at the great life she lived.
“Three!” shouted the camera man, raising the light.
At 7 years old, Mary left England with her parents, grandfather, and sisters to follow the Mormons to the United States. [2] In 1856, little Mary began her journey from Iowa City to the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Soon after Mary left Iowa, her two-week-old baby sister passed. Winter came early, and the company grew weaker as rations ran out. The people that Mary loved, her aunt, grandfather, and playmate, passed away along the trail. Their deaths left a great sadness in her heart. [3]
Mary’s father, James, was intelligent as he was goodhearted. When there was no more food, James unwrapped the rawhide straps off the wagon wheels and boiled them for a treat, a delicacy that Mary thought of often. The journey was so cold that her feet froze, leaving her legs were blue, black, and completely numb. Mary did arrive to her promised land, but she could not walk.
“Two!” The camera man’s thumb pressed down on the trigger.
When the doctor examined Mary’s feet, he advised that they should be amputated. Her father protested, “This little girl didn’t walk a thousand miles to have her legs cut off! If she dies, she dies with her legs on.” [4]
Mary’s neighbor, Mrs. Snider, advised her family to wrap Mary’s feet in frozen beef steaks. She spent three days with her legs cocooned in thawing meat, which were later treated with a homemade ointment. After three long years, she could walk again. [5]
The downside? Pain in her feet for the rest of her life.
“One!” shouted the camera man.
Mary was a bride at 16 and the mother of thirteen children, yet the bounds of her love were not confined by blood. [6] Known as “Aunt Mary Wight” by Brigham City locals, she was a natural nurse that always cared for the sick.
At 70 years old, Mary cared for a neighbor’s sick infant.
“Mother! You might be exposing the whole family to something terrible,” her children reported. “You don’t know what the child has. It could have anything!”
“The child is sick,” Mary quickly answered. “A little baby cannot be sick … with Mormon homes about it. Every house has a door. Doors were made to let people in … I think you had better put a bite to eat on the table.”
Mary’s granddaughter wrote that after two days of attentive care, the baby smiled at Mary. He smiled for Mary’s warm home, a clean bed, and food. With a sign of sweet content, his eyes closed and he peacefully passed.
The parents wanted Mary to give a sermon at the child’s funeral and asked how much all her service cost.
“Not a penny,” Mary promised. “My church does not take money for preaching.”
Flash!
Her photograph was taken. When Mary saw it weeks later, she paused. For the first time, she paused for herself.
“My, she’s a big woman, isn’t she? … Do I look like that?” Mary asked.
“You do!” chorused her children.
“I did not know life was doing that to me,” Mary replied.
She dropped her head and wept. In all her life, without taking a second to look in the mirror, she was beautiful.
Works Cited
[1] Allphin, Jolene Spendlove. Mary Hurren, 2017, www.tellmystorytoo.com/member_pdfs/mary-hurren_1709_401.pdf.
[2] Rogers, Julie. “The Steps We Have Taken.” The Steps We Have Taken, Pioneer Artwork by Julie Rogers, 2018, www.tellmystorytoo.com/fine-arts/julie-rogers/the-steps-we-have-taken.
[3] Hurren, Mary Reeder. FamilySearch.Org, www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/125376773?p=53629688&returnLabel=Mary%20Reeder%20Hurren%20(KWNV-7BG)&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FKWNV-7BG.
[4] Rogers, Julie. “The Steps We Have Taken.” Julie Rogers – Artist, julierogersart.com/the-steps-we-have-taken/.
[5] Jeppsen, Irene. “Mary Hurren’s Journey to Zion.” Mary Hurran 1956 Mary Hurren’s J – FamilySearch.Org, www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/102910950?p=53629688&returnLabel=Mary+Reeder+Hurren+%28KWNV-7BG%29&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FKWNV-7BG.
[6] Baird, Margaret Almina Wight. “She Wouldn’t Do It Any Other Way.” FamilySearch.Org, www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/10064038?p=53629688&returnLabel=Mary+Reeder+Hurren+%28KWNV-7BG%29&returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.familysearch.org%2Ftree%2Fperson%2Fmemories%2FKWNV-7BG.
Isabelle Justice 