Episode 143 - Kindness in the Wild West: The Inspirational Life of Mary 'Queen' Mellen Palmer

"Be kind, be kind because kindness may always help out someone who is suffering." These words of advice were written from a mother to her daughters when she feared that her time on earth was growing short, that mother was Mary "Queen" Mellen Palmer. She was mother to three daughters whom she adored and loving wife to the founder of Colorado Springs, General William Jackson Palmer. But she was so much more than just a wife and a mother and until recent years, history has done her Ordinary Extraordinary story several injustices. Fortunately, Dianne has spent many years researching and portraying Queen and shares the story of her life and legacy; it was Queen who opened the first public school in Colorado springs. She was a trustee for the library association and she helped to bring music and culture to a corner of the Wild West. Even though she was often in poor health due to a heart condition, she traveled extensively, doted on her children, and did her part to help care for her family, her friends, and those in her community who had so much less than she; helping not only with their material needs, but bringing beauty into their lives as well. "Any beauty we have once felt is ours always - and nothing can take it from us, so long as we can think. This is an eternal Now- and is a joy forever. "  -  Mary "Queen" Mellen Palmer