Via Community News Service, in partnership with Vermont State University Castleton.
‘My professor at college always said that new employees should always make friends with the secretaries and custodial staff because they are the eyes and ears of the institution. He was right!” said Brian Greenfield, social studies teacher at Mill River Union High School.
Mary Bride started working at Mill River in 1989, making this her 37th year there as the secretary. And she’s never far away — living only five houses down from the school, where she meets her husband Peter every day for her 30-minute lunch break.
“He makes great sandwiches!” Bride said.
But Bride is much more than just the longest employed member in the building. Coworkers say she is the backbone of the school, impacting all who encounter her welcoming smile at the start of every day.
“My favorite part about Mary is her contagious smile,” said Tessa Maguire, an MRU graduate. “As soon as you walk into the main office, you are instantly greeted with the biggest smile and warm embrace from her.”
The job title “secretary” comes with more than just writing late slips, answering phone calls and filling out paperwork — Bride’s least favorite tasks of the job. But most importantly, Bride likes to be a safe place for kids. “I like to be welcoming to everybody,” she said.
There are comical moments, too, like the list of excuses for absences she has heard over her 37 years.
“I’m just not feeling it today,” one memorable student told her.
Or the time a parent called to say that their child needed to stay home with the cat so it wouldn’t get lonely.
Every once in a while, she will receive a phone call with an overshare of medical information. And then there are also the notes she has received on the backs of bank slips, tissues and once on a dirty paper plate.
“These are all unexcused excuses,” Bride said with a chuckle. “Excuses from when I started are nothing compared to what they are now.”
Bride is in her third generation of Mill River students, and she can see how kids have changed over time. She said students are more assertive with their needs when speaking to adults, and the care for their personal privacy is slim to none.
“They will tell you everything!” she said.
But the biggest change she has seen is how tech-savvy kids are now.
Since day one, Bride has always said, “I have the best job in the school.”
She said she doesn’t care if they are seniors or middle schoolers, kids are still kids that need “TLC”.
Coworkers talk about her nurturing presence at the school. “She has a really good way of knowing who needs more TLC,” said Assistant Principal Karyn Stannard.
All of Bride’s children attended MRU during her employment there, which she said created some of her favorite memories of the job.
“They would stop in when they needed money, the car or an early dismissal,” she said with a long laugh.
She and her husband have four children, all of whom have graduated from MRU. Their oldest son, Peter, graduated in 1998. Their oldest daughter, Elizabeth, graduated in 2001 and youngest son, Thomas, in 2005. Youngest daughter, Desi, who was a student before the Brides adopted her, graduated in 2011.
The Brides have been married for 47 years, meeting on New Year’s Eve 1978. What started as a blind date turned into a year-long adventure, including a relationship in April, an engagement in May, a wedding in September, and their first child two years later.
Bride said her favorite thing to do as a family is their annual vacation to Emerald Isle, North Carolina, where her sister-in-law lives. It has been a tradition for over 40 years. Bride said she could sit on the beach all day as long as she had a good book in her hands — author Maeve Binchy is her top pick.
Students always say how it’s hard to believe that school staff have lives outside of the building, but Bride loves her free time. In her younger days, Bride said she would work at The Vermont Country Store and Tinmouth Snack Bar when she wasn’t at school. Now, Bride looks forward to crossword puzzles, mowing the lawn, and most importantly, spending time with her grandkids.
“Oh, we do it all — watch movies, go on dinner dates, play Candyland and memory games,” she said.
Bride’s oldest grandkid will be a freshman next year, attending Mount St. Joseph Academy while playing football for Mill River, like his uncle Peter did.
“He’ll be a Minuteman football player!” she said with excitement.
Bride has always been proud to be a Minuteman herself and spreads that pride to all her students.
“In my son’s valedictory speech, he talked about being proud to be a Minuteman. I know Mrs. Bride taught him to truly appreciate that sense of school pride!” said Stacy Fiske Farrington, colleague of Bride’s.
Bride expresses how much her students impact her life, but they say she impacts them just as much.
“She showed me that showing up every day and doing your best will make the people around you and yourself happier,” Maguire said. “You never saw Mary having a bad day because she knew someone somewhere was also having struggles.”
Bride said she is still in close contact with some former students. She said she had a phone call a couple of weeks ago from a previous student wanting to let her know that she named her daughter after her.
“I didn’t know at the time but evidently I helped her out a lot at school,” Bride said.
Kristin Cimonetti, MRU choral music teacher, said it is always a pleasure to work with Bride, and said she is always supportive and goes above and beyond to be helpful to staff and students.
Former Principal Don Markie said he and Bride had a very close working relationship for over 25 years. He said that working side by side with her, day in and day out, was a blessing.
“My favorite thing is how she loves every student, and being present for them no matter what. I aspired to do that every day, and Mary was cut from that same cloth,” Markie said.
He also added that from prom time to graduation, her plate was overflowing big time.
“Come May/June, she was flying high, and she loved every last senior that crossed the stage,” he said.
Bride has been the “Graduation Guru” of MRU since John Towne and John Pluta trained her and Ken Webb before they departed from the school.
“The graduation plans have not changed since,” Bride said proudly.
When it comes to graduation, Bride always thinks back to the first principal of the school, Dean Houghton, who once said to her that there was no need for someone who makes $1 million a year to come in at graduation. “Who are we to bring these people in to talk about how great life is when some of our kids can’t afford shoes? Look, I have goosebumps telling you that!” she said, pointing to her arm.
Every day, Bride said she has students who brighten her mood, but there have been some hard experiences, too.
She says that there is nothing more heartbreaking than losing a student and, unfortunately, that is an experience that happens sometimes. Some had been friends of her son.
“We had a student who was coming home from work and got hit by a drunk driver, only a week after graduation,” Bride said. “It breaks my heart.”
Some of Bride’s colleagues were students at one time, too.
“It makes me feel old — really, really old,” she said.
She also said many staff members have become close friends and fun to work with.
“Mary and I are not allowed to sit together at district in-service because we have too much fun and usually end up laughing uncontrollably,” Greenfield said.
As the school year comes to an end, Bride is packed with prom ticket distribution duties and graduation tasks as the big day, June 4, approaches.
Despite the stress that may come her way from students and staff, her goal always remains to treat every person the same no matter who they are, or what they do.
“All kids are important, and I am truly blessed to work here, and that’s no B.S., that’s the truth,” Bride said.