Herron
A silver tray hangs on the wall at the top of the stairwell leading to my bedroom.
The tray is now a bit tarnished, but — after 42 years — the inscription on its surface still pops out: “… give them a lot of love and affection.”
The “them” in the inscription refers to children — specifically children with speech and hearing disabilities — but, in a larger sense, all children and all people.
The specific children — up to 25 of them at a time — once lived on the campus of Indiana University in a residential program. The dual purpose of the program was therapy for the children and training for a cadre of student clinicians studying in the Department of Speech and Hearing.
The children lived first in a home along Fee Lane near what is now the School of Music, then were moved to a converted dormitory on Seventh Street at the eastern edge of campus. Both residences were called the “Exchange Home” in recognition of funding provided by the Exchange Clubs of Indiana.
My mother, Doris Herron, was the home’s “house mother” from 1970 until her retirement in 1980 — watching over both the children and the student clinicians, who also lived in the house.
Mom’s academic qualification for the job was a high school diploma from the former Mt. Auburn High School in Shelby County. Her personal qualifications included a loving and compassionate heart, a bright mind and the experience of raising three children of her own.
She was 55 years old, widowed for nearly 10 years, and employed as a clerk at J.C. Penney when she applied for the position. What chance would she have to be hired as a staff member at Indiana University-Bloomington?
She learned of the opening from my father-in-law, a minister in Bloomington, who had only known her a couple of years but was astute enough to see qualities in her that went beyond any academic or employment history.
Dr. Kennon H. Shank, chairman of the Department of Speech and Hearing, saw the same qualities when he interviewed her for the position. Thus, my mother began what was to be a late-life career and an unofficial college education in speech and hearing, psychology, counseling and administration.
Eventually, her work with both the children and the student clinicians gained such attention from the faculty of the department that she was invited to attend staff meetings and encouraged to offer her views on program accomplishments, shortcomings and future directions.
She became known in these meetings for providing the personal observations of a mother, adding new perspectives to the conclusions of therapists and teachers.
Meanwhile, as house mother she continued to provide her greatest skill — that of being a “mom” to the children, the clinicians and occasionally even a professor.
And she became known for a single phrase she seemed to work into nearly every conversation and at nearly every staff meeting: “… give them a lot of love and affection.” Her mantra was simple when stated, but profound when applied.
When Mom retired in the summer of 1980, the department gave her a retirement reception at Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union. In addition to the standard 10-year-service pin, Dr. Shank presented her with the inscribed silver tray that now hangs on my stairwell wall.
Mom moved back to a mobile home in Hope after retirement. Her plan was to relax, spend time again with hometown friends and visit with her grandchildren.
But life in retirement proved as unpredictable as all those days she had spent working with children, clinicians and professors in Bloomington. She died from pancreatic cancer on New Year’s Day 1983.
Many years later I happened to see Dr. Gladys DeVane, her immediate supervisor at IU, at a play in Brown County. I introduced myself and asked her if she remembered Mom.
Dr. DeVane, then in her 70s and retired, hugged me and said, “Oh, my heavens, Doris Herron. She was a remarkable woman. I loved her.”
Remarkable, indeed — for the scores of children, clinicians and staff members she touched and for the lesson she left to the world in general about the gift and the power of love.
Bud Herron is a retired editor and newspaper publisher who lives in Columbus. He served as publisher of The Republic from 1998 to 2007. Send comments to [email protected].
