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When the November 2001 issue of the Forward
Janesville Report arrived in the mail, the recipient
saw two women dressed in business attire
gracing its cover. The one on the left was much
older, with a subtle smile and a twinkle in her
eyes, like a friendly grandmother inviting you in
for coffee and conversation. And then you noticed
the short-handled sledgehammer in her hands.
That, in a nutshell, was Mae Glowacki Thornton.
Mae recently passed away at the age of 94, one of
the last links to a bygone era in local commerce.
She was ahead of the times and didn't give up
until the times finally caught up with her.
When I came on board at Forward Janesville,
Mae was already pushing 80 but she was far
from ready to rest on her laurels. Still a leader of
the Goodwill Ambassadors and an active member
of the SCORE group of business advisors, she
was equal parts sweetness and spunk.
That 2001 issue of the Report featured Mae as
part of a story about local businesswomen who
were instrumental in “breaking the glass ceiling”;
hence, the sledgehammer. As Mae said in the
article, she didn't feel like a trendsetter when she
and her husband Leon Glowacki started Badger
Transparent Bag in 1946. But being an equal
partner – and a visible equal partner at that – was
definitely not the norm in those days. But she
held her own, first breaking down barriers with
the older salesmen who came to call, then with
the business community at large. Mae was
instrumental in getting women involved in the
then-Janesville Chamber of Commerce, and may
have been its first female member.
Her membership was never a passive one. A
long-time Goodwill Ambassador, she played a
major role in uniting the male-only Ambassadors
with their female counterpart, the Diplomats, to
create one group of volunteers. In retirement,
Mae shared her wealth of business experience
with budding entrepreneurs as part of Forward
Janesville's SCORE (later EBA) group of
executives. Through maroon jackets and green
jackets, Mae was a dedicated volunteer and a
strong believer in the organization.
When Forward Janesville began honoring its
Goodwill Ambassador of the Year in 1995, Mae
was the first recipient. She later added two more
trophies to her mantle, as FJI's Volunteer of the
Year in 2005 and again in 2013 as part of the
EBA. Businesswomen in Janesville owe a debt to
Mae. She helped pave the way for her gender, and
she was rightfully proud of that fact. When she
was interviewed in 2001, she boldly predicted
that “we are going to have a woman president,
and I think that it's not going to be too long,
because we are accepted now.” She may have
just missed seeing her prediction come true.
And that cover photo from 2001? She obviously
liked it because it was used in her obituary...with
the sledgehammer cropped out.
“Knowledge is Power” may seem like an old
adage, but in today’s mobile age it rings true
now more than ever for all of us. Education in
any form, has always been the portal to a better
job, a better life, a better community.
Rock County understood the value of education
during its earliest days of settlement and
continues to invest in this vital principle today.
Some of Wisconsin’s earliest private colleges
began here, with Beloit College and Milton
College being the oldest, founded in 1844 and
1846, respectively. One-room schoolhouses,
some of the earliest forms of local education for
rural children, popped up all over Wisconsin
landscapes from 1840-1870, but became
obsolete with the emergence of more
formalized school districts by 1900.
These early incubators of education were either
torn down or repurposed by the turn of the
century and are rare. Rock County is honored to
have one of a few remaining in Wisconsin, the
Frances Willard Schoolhouse. It was named
after Janesville native Frances Willard, who
went on to lead the suffragist and temperance
movement in America.
Beyond these formal educational structures,
education takes form in our local parks,
libraries, historic sites, gardens, theatres and art
centers. Active learning, at any age, reduces
stress, increases longevity and fosters social
habits. We encourage you to “discover what’s in
your backyard” this summer by visiting several
of Rock County’s educational treasures and take
pride that our community places such a high
value on education, of any type, at any level.
Follow the Rock County Historical Society on
social media via the hashtag
#FWSMoves
as
we continue to use the Frances Willard
Schoolhouse as an educational tool to make the
past relevant to the future.
See you on campus!
A look back remember When
Mike Reuter
- Executive Director, Rock County Historical Society
Frances Willard, early Rock County educator, 1890
Frances Willard Schoolhouse at the Rock County
Historical Society Campus
Education is Our Future
A Tribute to Mae Glowacki Thornton
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W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M
Jim Lyke
- Guest Contributor