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Article by Dr. Clara Small, professor emerita, Salisbury University  Mary Gladys Jones was born May 10, 1919 to Norman Edward Jones and Martha Showell Jones, in Whaleyville, in Worcester County, on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. She always loved education and even started elementary school at the age of five, at Whaleyville Elementary School. By the time school officials realized she was too young to be in school, she was within a couple of weeks of completing first grade, so administrators allowed her to remain in school to complete the first grade. Upon the completion of her early grades, at Flower Street High School in Berlin, Maryland, her family found a place for her to live (board) in Wicomico County where she could continue her education, at Salisbury High School, the only colored high school on the Lower Eastern Shore at the time. There were no buses for her to travel to and from school, so her parents paid for her to live with a family in Fruitland during the week and picked her up on weekends. She graduated from the Salisbury Colored High School in 1935, at the age of 16, so she lived in the Salisbury/Fruitland area from the time she was 14 years old. Her formative years were spent during the Great Depression, so she learned how to survive in a segregated society with less. She had just entered high school when the depression began, but because her father was a veteran, her family did not suffer as harshly as others. Her mother, a housewife, was also enterprising, as she helped the family make ends meet. The family had a truck farm and her mother canned and preserved fruits and vegetables, raised chickens, ducks, hogs and had plenty of food, which they shared with others in need. Although they were not wealthy, they were comfortable. Her mother also sewed, and Mary Glady’s sister knitted and crocheted, which helped to make very fashionable clothing for the family. That cooperative, sharing spirit which began in her parents’ home guided and sustained Mary Gladys Jones throughout her life. Her parents inspired her to succeed in life and provided a firm foundation for her success. However, she also received a great deal of inspiration and support from an uncle named Charles Pullett, whom she called “Uncle Butcher.” He and his wife, Aunt Julia, accepted Mary Gladys as the daughter they did not have. Uncle Butcher worked for well-to-do families as a chauffeur in Salisbury. His speech pattern was so precise and admirable, that he inspired her to speak well and he also purchased beautiful clothes for her. At the age of twelve, he purchased Mary Gladys’ first watch and a dictionary, and she used the dictionary to learn a new word each day. Unfortunately, he died very suddenly during her first year in high school, but his spirit and the inspiration he gave to her kept her focused on education and the desire to succeed. In her later years, Mary Gladys once stated that “she believed that if he had lived, most likely her ultimate dream of being a college professor would have been realized.” After graduation from high school in 1935, she attended Bowie State Normal College (now Bowie State University), and graduated in 1938 with a certification to teach elementary education, which had to be renewed every five years. She attended Bowie State College even though she lived in very close proximity to Salisbury State College, but at the time African Ameri-cans were not allowed to attend that institution. Her aunt and uncle worked at Salisbury State College, but blacks could not matriculate there. In 1953, she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State College (now Morgan State University). Post-baccalaureate course work for her “Masters Equivalency” included work at Temple University, the University of Maryland College Park, Maryland State College (now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore), the University of Delaware, and Salisbury State University (now Salisbury University).
Mary Gladys Jones’ teaching career began in 1938 at Girdletree Elementary School in Worcester County, Maryland, where she remained for five years, until 1943. At the time, it was mandated by the Board of Education that a teacher live in the community in which that teacher taught. A teacher was expected to attend a local church, sing on the choir and participate in a function of the church and/or community, and be a part of a local family. Her beginning salary was $620 per year and one-third of that was for room and board. From 1943 to 1981, Mary Gladys Jones taught in Wicomico County at the following schools: North Quantico (one room), a Rosenwald School, 1943-1947, and worked as a Principal/Teacher; Allen Elementary, 1947-1953; Fruitland, 1953-1955; Cedar Lane, 1955-1963; Salisbury High School, 1963-1964; Salisbury Elementary School, 1964-1965; and Prince Street, 1965-1981, over 40 years of dedication to the education of the children on the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. When Mary Gladys began teaching in the segregated schools in 1938, she often taught seven grades at once and many times the children were listening and learning from each other. She remembers teaching in a one-room school house with a pot-bellied stove where a fire had to be stoked to keep the children warm; where the wooden floors had to be oiled two or three times a year; and the schoolyard and surroundings had to be kept clean and maintained. Teaching in the North Quantico, Rosenwald School was a challenge because she was not just a teacher but also a principal. However, when the Wicomico County Schools were integrated, the school situation was quite different. When Mary Gladys Jones was assigned to Salisbury Elementary School the first year (1964) and then was assigned to Prince Street from 1965-1981, she did not have to worry about the pot-bellied stove or the other concerns about the maintenance of the building. At Prince Street School, she was the first black teacher to teach in the upper grades in the integrated situation in Wicomico County. She was also one of the first African American teachers assigned to a previously all-white school in Salisbury. The first year she was assigned to teach the 5th grade, which was a demotion, but at the end of the year she was given the 6th grade again. Her tasks were not as difficult in the integrated setting because she did not have to be concerned with cleaning of the classrooms, and there were secretaries who provided support services, which did not exist in the segregated black schools.  While the North Quantico School that Mary Gladys Jones taught at is no longer standing, Germantown School survives as an excellent example of Rosenwald Schools. This one room school was lovingly restored in 2013 with many of its original components, including the stove, that were saved by the community. Photos by Andre Nieto Jaime Mary Gladys Jones also remembered the segregated environment in which she lived during the early years of her life and her early years of teaching in Worcester and Wicomico Counties. For example, in 1941, she came to live in Fruitland and went to the drugstore to purchase some items and found that one door was painted white and another door was painted black. At the time it was customary for Blacks to have to walk on one side of the street. Also, if an African American were traveling, it was understood that he or she “did not stop in Powellsville or Willards,” due to the racial climate that existed in those towns. That was the nature of a segregated society at the time. In 1981, Mary Gladys retired after 42 years of teaching in the Worcester and Wicomico County Schools, but her commitment to enrich the lives of students in the area did not cease. When the Board of Education needed someone to spearhead their migrant education program, and it knew that Mary Gladys Jones was very well acquainted with working with students with special needs, she was recruited to fill the void. Mr. Renzilo Foxwell called her in June, 1985, and asked her to become a part of the Migrant Education Program. She accepted the challenge and admirably performed the duties of the position. For five years, she traveled between five schools and worked with small groups to ensure the students received the individualized care and attention they required and desired. From 1981 to 1984 she served as Supervisor of the Migrant Education Program and the five schools in the program she visited were Delmar, Bennett, Pinehurst, Fruitland Primary, and Fruitland Intermediate. By the time the program was phased out, Mary Gladys Jones had supervised 17 school teachers. Renzillo Foxwell (1929 - 2021) Wicomico Board of Education, Superintendent of Title 1 and the Migrant Programs At the end of the Migrant Education Program, her participation in the Fruitland Colored Elementary School (now the Fruitland Community Center) began. Fruitland citizens purchased the school in order to create a community center where local elementary children could be tutored after school and on Saturdays. In 1984, Mary Gladys Jones, along with Mrs. Mary Black Pinkett, another retired teacher, developed a weekly tutorial program for community youth during the school year, at the Old Morris Street Elementary School. The Morris School existed from 1912-1957, and by 2011 Mary Gladys Jones was the only surviving teacher of the Morris Street Elementary School (Fruitland). The program developed by Mary Gladys Jones and Mrs. Pinkett emphasized reading, writing, mathematics, and ethics, and became the project of the Delta Sigma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., in 1991, and later became known as the “IVY AKAdemy”. For the first 15 years, Mary Gladys Jones was assisted by Mrs. Pinkett, and later with the assistance of Alexis Dashield. By 2025, for over 40 years, Mary Gladys Jones had been teaching and mentoring students at the Fruitland Community Center. The program had been successful in helping hundreds of children succeed. The original program had expanded to include the arts, music, literature, health and self–esteem to help students reach their fullest potential. Some of the recent students were grandchildren of the students she mentored when the Center first opened. The program has been cited as having improved the character and academic excellence in the children. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) were implemented. Other benefits listed at the Fruitland Community Center included a summer camp with two meals a day, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and a planned community garden, which is a Boy Scout Eagle Project. Mary Gladys Jones Fruitland Community Center Mary Gladys Jones always believed, “You must educate the whole child.” Her regimen for after school learning included not only an emphasis on a solid foundation of academic basics but also cultural experiences, re-spect for authority, and insistence on good manners and overall character building. Her motto was always: “Good, better, best. Never let it rest until the good becomes the better and the better becomes the best.” She believed that as long as there were caring people in the community, there would always be a way for the Fruitland Community Center to help fulfill the needs of future generations of young students in need of after school mentoring in Fruitland. As such, there would always be a need for a safe haven where children could grow and learn after school. Not only did Mary Gladys Jones help the youth of the community, she also helped many student teachers from Salisbury University get off to a promising start as their mentor in the cooperating teacher program.
For her life-long service and commitment to the education of the youth of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Mary Gladys Jones was the recipient of a host of well-deserved awards, certificates of appreciation and proclamations. A list of some of those commendations are as follows:
Due to her longevity and extensive career, as well as her remarkable job of teaching and mentoring such a vast number of students, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore established the Mary Gladys Jones Volunteer of the Year Award. The first recipient was, none other than, Mrs. Mary Gladys Jones in 2011. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding, sustained, and unselfish contributions to community service, and whose vital ideas and personal sacrifices exemplify the ideal of service to our community. Nominees must have made significant contributions in such areas of community service as youth, education, human services, community development, health or the environment. The qualities of exemplary leadership, vision, integrity, compassion, cooperation, and generosity of time and talents will also guide the selection of the recipient. Mary Gladys Jones was a member of a host of organizations, some of which are:
Sadly, after faithfully serving her community, teaching and tutoring hundreds of local children, Mrs. Mary Gladys Jones passed away on February 3, 2025 at her home in Salisbury, Maryland, at the age of 105. Her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Sorors performed the Ivy Beyond the Wall Memorial Service for her on Friday, February 7, and her funeral services were held on Saturday, February 8, 2025 at Mt. Calvary Community Church in Fruitland, Maryland. The community lost a kind, gentle, loving teacher, who never stopped teaching and spreading words of encouragement and guidance, until her last breath was taken.
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