Profile: Mary Elizabeth Dunbar
Profile: Mary Elizabeth Dunbar
Town Historian, Now a Georgia Peach of a Gal
Ellicottville has a way of attracting people of all walks of life. Back in our formative years we were host to many individuals who went on to make their mark in the larger world. Curious, I Googled to find information about our community ancestors and came across this bit from a website of a chalet rental site in Ellicottville: “Have you heard about Chat GPT? If not, it’s an AI (artificial intelligence) app. It writes content. We thought we’d give it a try. We asked it who are the most famous people from Ellicottville…” Take it from me, Chat GPT is not worth its salt. It mentions 4 people - 3 of whom are not even remotely connected, and John Elliot who surveyed the area and for whom the town is named. Mary Elizabeth Dunbar would have felt supremely vindicated since she was famously known for her resistance to computers and all things technical.
Not a native Ellicottvillian, Mary Elizabeth grew up in Little Valley on 8th Street, then 4th, the oldest of four sisters, Susan and Sally (both deceased), and Betsy who lives with her husband, Carl on Jekyll Island, Georgia. She often spoke about memories of the now Gramco Mill in Little Valley. In her era, it was the James H. Gray Milling Company where both her grandfather, Emmons Burdette Dunbar and father, William Henry Dunbar were employed as managers. In high school and one summer on college break, Mary worked at the mill. That mill was partially burned, then rebuilt and eventually became Gramco, where her father worked until his retirement. Her mom was a schoolteacher, which likely imbedded in Mary her unique inquisitiveness about people and places from years gone by. That, and her great-grandfather, William Dunbar, fought in the Shenandoah Campaign of the Civil War and mustered out in 1865, living out his years in Cattaraugus County until his passing in 1914.
Mary got her education at the University of Maryland at College Park (Bachelor’s Degree) and North Carolina State in Raleigh (Master’s). She never married; she lived at home for a while after getting her Ellicottville job, then moved first to an apartment on Elizabeth Street then finally bought her home on Donlen Drive, where she resided ever since until her recent move to Georgia. Her work at the Cooperative Extension in the 4-H department gave her great satisfaction and touched many lives. She served as Training Leader for Youth Development and influenced the development of many young people in our community. In 1994, Mary was honored with the 4-H distinguished service award in recognition of outstanding contributions to 4-H. In fact, if you visited the Cattaraugus County Fair this year and browsed through the poultry building, you were actually in the building named for Mary Elizabeth Dunbar.
Mary has a love for all things history. She was a member of several historical associations in the area and was on the board of the Ellicottville Historical Society and the Cattaraugus County Museum in Machias. She served as both Town and Village Historian for Ellicottville for decades. Along with those affiliations, she worked with the Seneca Nation on resettlement issues, and she also served on the Arboretum Committee. Another of her lasting contributions was her work with several other county historians on the Advisory Council for the County Bicentennial History book. Her departure to a well-earned life of retirement leaves many empty spaces. And likely many families who thought they might still count on the generosity of her time when asked to help research their own family genealogies, which she did willingly, for many.
In her spare time, Mary liked to travel across America and the world. She has visited places like Alaska, China, Russia, and Egypt. On her last big trip to Peru, she unfortunately fell and had to fly a circuitous route home to receive needed medical care and to rehabilitate. Fortunately, she was able to enjoy Peru vicariously through Judy Brown who shared her photos of her own trip to Peru.
Now at 85, Mary is one tough lady. She has battled several times with cancer and always had the lifelong struggle with osteoporosis that somehow never kept her down or held her back. Her vitality, her love of Ellicottville and the rich history of our county and surrounding communities, her love of sharing all she knew with everyone, particularly children, was a gift to this community for as long as she was able to share it with us. Mary, if you are reading this, you are truly missed.
This article would not have been possible without the information this writer was given by Otto Reinhart who instigated it, and Judy Brown who did some of the research on the life of Mary Elizabeth Dunbar. Sincere thanks go out to Judy and Otto.
Mary Elizabeth enjoys cards and notes from people she has known over the years. Why not drop her a note? Mary Elizabeth Dunbar, Magnolia Manor, 2255 Frederica Rd., St. Simons Island, Ga 31523.