Friday, March 8, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.
When: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday, through April 28.
Where: West Charleston Library, 6301 W. Charleston Blvd.
Admission: Free.
Information: 507-3940.
Her name may not be familiar, but at the beginning of the 20th century she was one of the most famous women in the world.
A traveling exhibit details Mary Baker Eddy's rise from a penniless, single mother to a newspaper publisher and founder of a church that continues to have a worldwide following.
Eddy's writings, photos and memorabilia are on display in the "This is woman's hour ... The Life of Mary Baker Eddy" exhibit through April 28 at the West Charleston Library.
The exhibit is part of a yearlong tour of the southwest to tell the forgotten story of one of America's pioneer women's activists, said Joan Pedersen, national program manager for The Writings of Mary Baker Eddy foundation in Seneca Falls, N.Y.
A public reception will be held Tuesday at the library in honor of Women's History Month. Featured speakers include Sunny Scott-Luther, an international speaker on the life of Mary Baker Eddy. The city of Las Vegas will present a proclamation to honor Eddy's contributions to society.
"People may be familiar today with some of her work, but they don't know a woman was behind it," Pedersen said. "That's why her story needs to be known."
Eddy (1821-1910) embarked on her career late in life. As a Victorian woman, she suffered the stuffy, toxic air in coal-fueled houses, inadequate medical care and clothing such as tight corsets that restricted breathing and ease of movement. She was bedridden with fragile health most of her early adulthood.
She married three times before the age of 45. Her first husband died just before she gave birth to her son. Her second husband alienated her only son from Eddy in 1866, leaving her destitute and alone to live off the kindness of friends.
During this time she fell while walking down an icy street in Lynn, Mass. Bedridden again at age 45 with serious internal injuries, Eddy began to study the Bible.
She searched for meaning for the events in her life in the pages of the New Testament.
In 1875, at age 54, she published her first major work, "Science and Health." The book laid out the principles of her religious movement, Christian Science. From that movement Eddy created the Church of Christ, Scientist in the late 1800s. There are more than 2,000 churches practicing today in 60 countries.
"She was a woman looking for spirituality and she set out to do so," Pedersen said.
In 1908 Eddy founded the Christian Science Monitor to combat what she saw as negative journalism tactics. The paper's motto was her creed: "To injure no man, but to bless all mankind."
The paper continues to circulate in more than 100 countries and has 13 U.S. news bureaus, 12 foreign bureaus and has won six Pulitzer Prizes in its nearly 100 years.
After the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11 there has been a resurgence in the popularity of Eddy's spiritual writings, Pedersen said.
"People are looking into her again because we all are searching our own feelings about spirituality after everything that has happened to our country," Pedersen said. "Her life, all that she went through and accomplished, is an inspiration to people today."
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