Being born a girl was her first mistake.
That’s the perspective author Elle Mott believes her great-great grandfather had toward his only daughter, Mott’s maternal great-grandmother, Marie Conner Schmidt, a Lebanon resident.
Mott recently released her newest book about Schmidt, unveiling a history about a woman who ended up becoming one of Lebanon’s trailblazers in the mid-1900s.
Her nonfiction historical biography, “Marie Conner, A Leading Lady: Her Life and Civic Leadership in a Bygone Era,” documents her rise as a leader in Lebanon despite her father’s rejection of her place as a woman.
Learning that her great-grandmother was the first hospital auxiliary president for Lebanon Community Hospital in 1950, she also found Schmidt was well-known in Lebanon during the 1940s and ’50s for her community involvement and civic leadership, including participation in the American Legion auxiliary, PTA, Red Cross, Marguerite Chapter of the White Shrine of Jerusalem, and more.
“When I was a girl, she had shown me many scrapbooks of the events and groups in Lebanon that she had been very much a part of,” Mott said. “In my older adulthood and with no scrapbooks in hand, I set out to research her Lebanon life and from that, this book was born.”
Mott’s book paints a vivid account of Schmidt’s life from the moment she was born. The author takes the reader through obstacles Schmidt faced as a woman who not only sought her father’s acceptance as a woman, but also rose to a prominent position in the small town of Lebanon where she advocated for women’s rights.
“Marie steps into her community and into the hearts of many people to give her time and help with their needs,” Mott said. “This is Marie’s story – of a rise from her girlhood angsts to become a leading lady – and much more.”
Jenny Grove, of Lebanon, reviewed the book, stating, “Wow, this book is such a delight! ….As a businesswoman and community volunteer in Lebanon, Oregon, I felt a real connection to her journey. I recognized names that begat generations of hard working, generous people.”
Mott, who grew up in Oregon, now resides in Kentucky. She describes herself as a creative nonfiction writer who weaves advocacy, personal strength and humanitarianism into her published works. Her other two books are “Out of Chaos: A Memoir” and “People Helping People.”
Her recent release, “Marie Conner, A Leading Lady: Her Life and Civic Leadership in a Bygone Era,” is 303 pages and can be found on Amazon. It will soon be available also on bookshop.org, barnesandnoble.com and powells.com, and distributed through Ingram. More information can be found at ellemottauthor.com.
Mott said the story is “an encouragement to those who are troubled by our country’s current strife and who refuse to sit idly by to see how it unfolds.”