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Mollie Woods Hare
Mollie Woods Hare
	Mollie A. Woods (later Hare), from a 1917 newspaper
Born	Mollie Ainscow Woods; August 30, 1881; Duncannon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	January 19, 1956 (aged 74); Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Educator

Mollie Woods Hare (August 30, 1881 – January 19, 1956) was an American educator. In 1913, she founded the Woods Schools in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, serving students with intellectual disabilities.

Early life

Mollie Ainscow Woods was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania, the daughter of McClellan Woods and Jean (Jennie) Harkinson Woods. She trained as a teacher at a normal school in Philadelphia,^[1] with further studies under Edward Ransom Johnstone at the Vineland Training School in New Jersey.^[2]^[3]

Career

In 1902, Woods became principal of a Philadelphia public school for "retarded and truant boys".^[1] In 1913, Woods and her sister, a nurse, founded the Woods Schools to educate students with intellectual disabilities.^[4] It was located in their home in Roslyn, Pennsylvania^[5] until 1921, then in Langhorne.^[6] On the later, larger campus, she added housing and a Child Research Clinic to expand the school's mission.^[7] There were more than 40 buildings in the schools' complex by 1948.^[8] The schools became a private non-profit run by a board of trustees when she retired as its director in 1949.^[1]^[9]

In 1939, Hare received an honorary degree from Temple University,^[10]^[11] and traveled to Geneva as a delegate to the Congress of the International Association for the Education of Exceptional Children.^[12]

Personal life and legacy

Mollie A. Woods married John Ridgeway Hare in 1919.^[13] Her husband died in 1944,^[14] and she died in 1956, at the age of 74, in Langhorne.^[1]^[15] A historical marker about Hare was placed in Langhorne in 2010.^[16] The Woods Schools continued after her death,^[17]^[18] though changing professional practices, laws, and social expectations shaped the school over the decades.^[19] Woods Services is now a national network of programs for disabled clients of all ages.^[4] Woods Services gives an annual Mollie Award, named for Hare, to outstanding employees.^[20]^[21]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Mrs. Mollie Hare, Founded Schools; Leader in Special Education of Retarded Children in Pennsylvania Is Dead". The New York Times. January 21, 1956. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
^ "Elected Woods School President; Succeeds Mollie Woods Hare". The Bristol Daily Courier. September 22, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare". The Training School Bulletin. 36 (4): 76. June 1939 – via Internet Archive.
^ ^a ^b Woods Services, About Us.
^ "Backward Children's Minds Trained by Two Young Women". Evening Public Ledger. February 2, 1917. p. 9. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ The Handbook of Private Schools. P. Sargent. 1926. p. 547.
^ "Women's History". Langhorne Council for the Arts. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
^ "Man Hurt in Woods Schools Fire". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 20, 1948. p. 21. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Woman Seeks School Charter; Duncannon Native". Harrisburg Telegraph. June 6, 1947. p. 17. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1224 in Temple Graduating Class Hear Appeal by Dr. Heiser for U.S. Health Conservation". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 16, 1939. p. 4. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare Receives Degree". Duncannon Record. June 22, 1939. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The Woods School Represented at International Congress". Journal of Exceptional Children. 6 (1): 38. October 1939 – via Internet Archive.
^ "Marriage Licenses". Harrisburg Telegraph. August 19, 1919. p. 12. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "John R. Hare Dies at His Home in Langhorne". The Bristol Daily Courier. February 7, 1944. p. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mrs. Mollie Woods Hare". Duncannon Record. January 27, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mollie Woods Hare" Historical Marker Database.
^ Ying, Diane (December 12, 1968). "Self-Destructive Child Given Chance for Normal Life". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 81, 91. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Raftery, Kay (August 19, 1984). "At the Woods Schools, Good Cheer Abounds at a Dedication". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 266. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Woestendiek, John (November 1, 1981). "Strike Raises Questions at Special Bucks School". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. 1B, 10B, 11B. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Heads Above the Crowd". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 8, 1994. p. 210. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Honors". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 18, 1995. p. 86. Retrieved July 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.