I was born in Pasadena, California, in the early 50s, then raised in nearby Sierra Madre. During the hippie era, I headed back East for college. I majored in art history and printmaking at Wheaton, in Norton, Massachusetts. During summers, I worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor at the Sierra Madre public pool.
I loved working with kids, so after finishing my BA, I obtained an elementary teaching credential from USC’s Graduate School of Education. I got married four weeks after passing my last exam. That seems young to me now, but I was the last of my friends to get married. I taught elementary school in the Pasadena and Menlo Park Unified School Districts for five years, then took a break and had two fabulous kids.
When my children were two and four, I got divorced and returned to school, first just at night. Unfortunately, teaching would not support my mortgage. (In those days we paid 14% interest.) The classes I liked best when studying art were printmaking. Art Center College of Design was just up the road from me in Pasadena. It took five years to obtain my BFA in Graphics and Packaging, but it provided the perfect flexible career for a working single mom. I created toothbrush and prophy-paste packaging for Oral-B Laboratories, theme parks for the Walt Disney Company, bottle labels for Nestlé Beverage Company, and video game packaging for Electronic Arts and Sony Computer Entertainment. I also taught. I enjoyed passing on my craft to budding designers at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where I’d moved in 1995.
Since I was a baby, I dealt with a father who suffered from paranoia and schizophrenia. He seemed like an eccentric crazy person when I was young. He was loving, exciting, and usually fun. But by the time I was 28, the demons were getting to him. Many of my friends in high school knew of him as The Man in the Purple Cow House. That’s what I titled the book I wrote about him, which Hope Publishing launched in 2005. Since then my ‘career’ has morphed from being a package designer to being a professional writer and book designer, and an amateur genealogist. I describe my books on the My Book page on this website.
My latest is a children’s picture book about Henry Knox (a 5x-great-grandfather) called Henry’s Big Kaboom. I wrote it as a sing-along ballad to appeal to my grandchildren. Check out the YouTube video of the animated version of the book. (You can watch it for free!) I forgot to mention I’ve also become a YouTube creator. Very fun.
But the blessings of my life are my children, grandchildren, and rascally corgi, Abigail. I’ve also taken up camping. My current rig is a ten-foot Aliner. I am in awe of the nature around me.
Be well, be kind, and, if you can’t change your life, change your attitude.
x
Thank you for joining me.
Mary Ames Mitchell's Web Home 
Oh my! You’ve endured a lot but it sounds like you’ve got a handle on life. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade-sounds like you’ve done that. You also seem gifted so I’m looking forward to following your adventures!
Quite a story! Glad joined our PW group and enjoying the lighthouse rally! Let’s hope the rain stops.
After hearing all the stories about your father, finally got to see a photo of him.
New site….
http://www.burch-art.com
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Mary,
My wife was at my parents’ house and noticed “The Man in the Purple Cow House,” and brought it home today since she’d heard me speak of the Purple Cow House.
I knew your dad very slightly because my dad (Robert Haugaard) knew him quite well. I flipped through the book looking at pictures and saw the Ventura Beach House, and remembered when we visited your family there and how I played with you and your brothers.
I also saw the balcony at the Santa Monica apartment, where we visited him once. One incident sticks in my mind: I was watching the traffic on PCH from the balcony when a man stopped his car to look under the hood. Just as he did that a woman in the front seat honked the horn at him. He jumped and went back and spoke to her (too far away to hear), then went back to look at the engine again. She did it again. It happened about three times, then they drove away.
Anyway, I suspect we were there because your dad wanted to ask my dad (an architect) for help in dealing with the city. I suspect that is the case because my dad later became very frustrated because after talking to the city planning department and working out what he thought was a very reasonable compromise, he said your dad completely rejected it.
Very best,
Brad Haugaard
Hi Brad. Wow. What fun to hear from you. Your parents were terrific. They were the other ‘Bob and Kay’ in my life. I had an aunt and uncle Bob and Kay, too. Your mom wrote me not that long ago. Are they still around? Thanks for writing and sharing your memories. Take care. Mary
Mary:
I am trying to reach you to secure rights to reprint something you wrote in an upcoming textbook. Can you please send me an email address to send a formal request to.
All best, Kathy
Hi Mary, Just found your site and what a lovely time I’ve had watching several videos – great fun but now it’s time for tea!
Thanks, Elaine. Nice to hear. Hope you enjoyed your tea. I sure enjoy hearing about your world via your daughter. It’s fun to compare life in Cornwall to life in Northern California, isn’t it?
I am a huge Henry Knox fan – your utube presentation on the marker expedition was very informative. I have visited many of the areas you went to in New York and Thomaston ME but never thought much about the marker aspects of the Knox Trail. I reside in Shrewsbury MA – there used to be a marker by the Library. Thanks for sharing this information!
I’ve enjoined your Youtubes and preparing to self publish a book about farm worker leader Cesar Chavez, a longtime friend. Can you connect via LinkedIn? I am foubd under Charles L kyle, Ph D Chicago. I can’t invite you as I don’t have Premium.
Thanks. I’m glad I could help. Re: Linkedin, I have been trying to delete my account for years. I closed my business several years ago to dedicate myself to my own writing projects. There is always so much to do, isn’t there?
Thanks for your wonderful history lessons! I stumbled onto your site when looking for corroboration that the first cattle to arrive in the Americas came on Columbus’ second voyage.
I was promptly captured by your description of his brutality to the indigenous peoples. No wonder Native Americans want to eliminate the Columbus Day holiday. I agree! We should replace it with an Indigenous Peoples Day!
After reading all your articles on Columbus, I’ve branched out to several of your other articles – all excellent! I’ll return for more enlightenment!
One question: Do we know what caused Columbus’ vision loss – glaucoma?
Thank you, again!
v/r,
James Proctor
Honolulu
Was Bossie the purple cow the same as the Bossie cow in Santa Barbara? I’m wondering if this story relates to my own family history.
I’m sorry, I don’t know. I haven’t heard of the Santa Barbara Bossie. Are you talking about the statue of a cow that was on top of the old dairy on Milpis St?