Mary Jackson collection

Mary Louise Drummer was born March 6, 1923 in Ottawa, Ohio, the seventh of ten children. Mary, reared a Catholic, was educated by the Precious Blood nuns. She married a man named Campbell during World War II, and they became the parents of one son, Michael. Her husband was killed in action at Okinawa in 1945. In 1947, she married Frederick Eckman (MS 775), and their son Thomas was born on October 2 of that year. Typical of many couples taking advantage of the G. I. Bill, the Eckmans first lived in Columbus, Ohio, where Fred attended the Ohio State University and Mary kept house. There Eckman earned his bachelor of arts (cum laude, 1948), master of arts (1949), and doctoral degree (1954) in literature.

Eckman worked as an instructor of English at Glennville State Teachers College in Glennville, West Virginia (1949-1951) and as an assistant instructor at the Ohio State University (1952-1954), and Mary supplemented the family income by part-time work and babysitting. When Eckman became a member of the faculty at the University of Texas at Austin (1954-1960), Mary began teaching at the Jeffrey Nursery School. The marriage was a troubled one, however, and the couple divorced in 1960.

In 1961, Eckman accepted a position in the English Department at Bowling Green State University. In 1962-1963, Mary and Thomas lived in Spain for nine months. On their return to Toledo, Ohio, Thomas completed his high school education, graduating from Scott High School in 1966. He enrolled as a freshman at the University of Texas-Austin for the summer term. On August 1, 1966, he was among those killed by a sniper shooting from the University Tower. In Thomas' memory, Frederick and Martha Eckman established the Thomas F. Eckman Memorial Collection in the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of BGSU's Jerome Library, donating the core poetry collection and establishing a fund for its continued growth.

Training as a VISTA volunteer in 1966, Mary was sent to New York City where she was instrumental in establishing daycare programs throughout the city. Meanwhile, her son Michael Campbell entered the army in the mid-1960s, and while serving in Korea married Li Song. Two children were born to the couple. Song was hospitalized for mental illness, and Mary raised the two boys during the next fifteen years. In June 1968, Mary married Henry Jackson, a retired labor leader. He died six years later. Mary was involved in progressively more responsible positions in New York City daycare and social service agencies. She retired in 1984.