Marian J. "Ned" Nelson Hayden
(Mrs. F. Vivien Hayden)
 LHS Senior Class, 1921 |
 LHS Skyrocket Staff, 1921 |
 LHS Round Table, 1921 |
 LHS Girls' Bassketball, 1921 |
 1974 |
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This unidentified newspaper article, hand-dated Oct. 1974, was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:
- Silent movies, bands of Gypsies, and one room school houses are only a few of the fond memories Marian Hayden has of her childhood days of Lowell.
Born in the old Callahan house on Washington Street in April of 1903, Marian was the last child born of Frank and Emiline Nelson. Marian's father, Frank, was a teacher by profession, but was noted as one of the founders of the Lowell National Bank.
Marian tells about the changes in Lowell since the time of her childhood. She remembers the basketball games played upstairs of the old Fry's Department Store Building, the silent movie house next door, with the clammer of bowling pins from the building next to it. (Roberts Insurance Co.). She remembers Lowell's first library, which was located above the now established Davis Store, and "The Dog House" which was a one room schoolhouse she attended, recalling the rigid rules prohibiting boys and girls from playing together at recess.
Probably most amusing, were the bands of gypsies who came to Lowell each spring. They pitched tents and lived off the land. Whether fact or fallacy, Mrs. Hayden remembers the endless fear of being taken from her home to a far away land.
After graduation from high school, Marian left Lowell to attend Purdue University in Lafayette. She later completed her schooling at Madam Blakers Teachers College in Indianapolis. Marian then entered the teaching profession, and taught one year in Clinton, Indiana, before returning to Lowell.
Again due to the rules of the time, Marian's teaching career was disrupted when she married Mr. Vivian Hayden of Lowell. At that time women teachers were not allowed to marry. During World War II, she was recalled, and went on to teach for sixteen years within the Lowell area.
Marian's husband Vivian worked many years as the Postmaster in Lowell. They raised two sons, Dick who resides in Plymouth, Indiana, and Reed, who lives in Chicago.
Marian enjoys a fulfilling life with hobbies consisting of doll and antique collecting, reading, painting, gardening, and needle work. She presently holds memberships in The Mayflower Historical Society, Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority; she is a charter member of the Obadiah Taylor Treasure of the Lake County Historical Society, President of the Quester Club, and on the Board of Directors of Fuch's Nursing Home. With all of her activities, she still finds time to volunteer her services at the Lowell Public Library.
In talking to Mrs. Hayden about Lowell long ago, it became evident that Marian has been a progressive woman through changing times, in a progressive town, but feels at the same time that some things should never change.
Go to Marian Nelson Hayden, "Pioneer History Index," for further information.
Return to Lowell Biographies.