One of the women who took over the Grand Rapids Press in 1914 Suffrage Edition was a professional. In 1900 Mary E. Remington began her 38-year career at the Grand Rapids Herald and Press as a critic and reviewer of music and theatrical performances. Clearly, she wanted a change when she leapt over to sports in the suffrage edition!

Always signing as M. E. R., Remington was a reviewer appreciated by performers for her softened criticisms and sought out by theatrical advance men to make sure her review would be published. “Borne to the grave” in 1944 by six former coworkers at the Grand Rapids Herald and Press, Remington’s marker reads “M. E. R. Friendly Critic.”

An honorary member of the St. Cecilia Society, Mary E. Remington was also involved in the community’s Symphony Society, civic Players and Art Association.

Sources

This biography can also be found in the September 2020 issue of the Grand Rapids Women’s LifeStyle magazine.

“Death Takes Mary Remington.” Grand Rapids Press, April 20, 1944.