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Rider Story: Mary Jane Baade
"I didn't come here to hurt any one," Mary Jane replied.
"'The doctor kept digging me about coming," she says. Finally she could take no more
abuse. "Did you ever have a mother?" she asked the doctor. He smiled. She knew she had
gotten through to him.
"The doctor gave me all the dope. He as much as told me Mabel Collins was my mother,"
she says.
Later that day, the doctor called to give Mary Jane the address of her half brother, Joseph.
The Collinses drove her to his home, a huge mansion with a Cadillac parked out front. "All
this beauty and they put me in an orphanage?" she remembers thinking.
Mary Jane gathered her courage. She walked to the door, picked up the door knocker, and
let it fall loudly.
A woman in her fifties answered. "She looked at me. I looked at her," she says. Finally, the
younger woman spoke. "Is Joseph home?" she asked. "No he's not. I'm here taking care of
my grandchild. I'm Joseph's mother. May I help you?" the older woman asked.
Mary Jane knew then she was looking into the eyes of her mother. She froze. What could
she say to the woman who had given her away nearly four decades earlier? Mary Jane
turned to leave, but thought better of it.
"Yes, maybe you can help me," she said. The two women went inside to talk. Mary Jane
got right to the point, "Does Joseph know he has a half sister'?" she asked.
"Oh no, Joseph never had a half sister," the woman replied. Mary Jane paused. "Yes he
did, and I am that half sister," she said. The older woman began crying slowly and softly.
Mary Jane began crying, too. But neither said anything.
Mary Jane kept thinking,"Why doesn't she tell me she's my mother?" It was a question
Mary Jane would ask herself for 30 years. Mabel Collins never admitted Mary Jane was her
daughter; she wouldn't admit she'd had an illegitimate child.
Before returning home to her family, Mary Jane called her mother. “I know who you are.
Here is my address. Maybe someday you'll wish you had it."
She boarded the same train she had ridden as an orphan and "cried all the way home to
Grand Island." When she got home, a letter from her mother was waiting. The two
corresponded for 30 years until Mabel's death in 1978.
Today, at age 85, Mary Jane still gets emotional talking about the woman "who looked just
like me, and "never admitted she was my mother."
Mary Jane has saved each of her 70 letters, now yellowed with age. The letters all begin
"My dear Mary" and are full of newsy, everyday happenings. They are her only connection
to the woman who refused to claim her. A few letters contain various claims and excuses
why Mabel is not Mary Jane's mother; a few hint at the truth of their relationship. But never
did Mabel write the words Mary Jane longed to see, "Mary Jane, I am your mother."
"'The doctor kept digging me about coming," she says. Finally she could take no more
abuse. "Did you ever have a mother?" she asked the doctor. He smiled. She knew she had
gotten through to him.
"The doctor gave me all the dope. He as much as told me Mabel Collins was my mother,"
she says.
Later that day, the doctor called to give Mary Jane the address of her half brother, Joseph.
The Collinses drove her to his home, a huge mansion with a Cadillac parked out front. "All
this beauty and they put me in an orphanage?" she remembers thinking.
Mary Jane gathered her courage. She walked to the door, picked up the door knocker, and
let it fall loudly.
A woman in her fifties answered. "She looked at me. I looked at her," she says. Finally, the
younger woman spoke. "Is Joseph home?" she asked. "No he's not. I'm here taking care of
my grandchild. I'm Joseph's mother. May I help you?" the older woman asked.
Mary Jane knew then she was looking into the eyes of her mother. She froze. What could
she say to the woman who had given her away nearly four decades earlier? Mary Jane
turned to leave, but thought better of it.
"Yes, maybe you can help me," she said. The two women went inside to talk. Mary Jane
got right to the point, "Does Joseph know he has a half sister'?" she asked.
"Oh no, Joseph never had a half sister," the woman replied. Mary Jane paused. "Yes he
did, and I am that half sister," she said. The older woman began crying slowly and softly.
Mary Jane began crying, too. But neither said anything.
Mary Jane kept thinking,"Why doesn't she tell me she's my mother?" It was a question
Mary Jane would ask herself for 30 years. Mabel Collins never admitted Mary Jane was her
daughter; she wouldn't admit she'd had an illegitimate child.
Before returning home to her family, Mary Jane called her mother. “I know who you are.
Here is my address. Maybe someday you'll wish you had it."
She boarded the same train she had ridden as an orphan and "cried all the way home to
Grand Island." When she got home, a letter from her mother was waiting. The two
corresponded for 30 years until Mabel's death in 1978.
Today, at age 85, Mary Jane still gets emotional talking about the woman "who looked just
like me, and "never admitted she was my mother."
Mary Jane has saved each of her 70 letters, now yellowed with age. The letters all begin
"My dear Mary" and are full of newsy, everyday happenings. They are her only connection
to the woman who refused to claim her. A few letters contain various claims and excuses
why Mabel is not Mary Jane's mother; a few hint at the truth of their relationship. But never
did Mabel write the words Mary Jane longed to see, "Mary Jane, I am your mother."