Monticello Live

Books can influence and change the way you see the world. At the Monticello Public Library, there are not only significant books, but there is also a special libararian. Mae Simpson has impacted many people not only through the world of books but also through her life. Here is her story:

Mae Everett Simpson was raised in the 16th Section community east of Monticello. Her father was a pastor and her mother was a housewife. She was the 9th child of 11 children. Mae went to school most of her life in Selma. She went to high school at Drew Central and graduated in 1968. She then moved to Pine Bluff to attend college.

Her freshman year she married a schoolmate, Tommy Simpson. After her first year in college, they moved to South Carolina for two years where Tommy served in the Air Force. In 1970, the couple moved back to Monticello and had their first child.

Mae worked at Burlington for 15 years until the plant closed its doors. She then went back to school in McGehee. In 1985, she graduated from vocational-technical school with an associate secretarial degree.

Though Mae and Tommy had only one child, she parents 13. Mae is a foster parent. They have been fostering for 12 years. At  present, they have three children who have lived with them for six years.

"We lived out [of town] and my husband works in Crossett (where he is a licensed electrician and machinist at Georgia-Pacific). He works graveyard. I would be home by myself all the time. I didn’t like that. So, one of my co-workers suggested I become a foster parent," Mae responded when asked how they began fostering.

They still keep in contact with all of the children they’ve fostered. "I am Mom!" she said. "We are their Mom and Dad."

Mae started working at the the Monticello Public Library soon after she received her secretarial degree. She is the assistant branch manager and holds that title with pride.

"I love the people. There are so many nice people. If I didn’t like the people, it would be hard to stay in the same place for 20 years with all the different personalities you work with," she said.

When asked how what she has seen change in Monticello over the years, she said, "There are more opportunities for minority people. In the past, you wouldn’t have walked through the door of the library and found me behind the desk. It has been a joy to work here. You know, life is nothing without people. I don’t care who they are or the color of their skin. You get them and you mold them. We help them, and we give them opportunities to go to college. It gives them someplace to work, and they learn as they work."

Mae loves the people of Monticello. "There are good people here. They’ll do anything to help you. You know everybody, and that’s good."

Unwilling to simply go to work and return home, Mae is currently on a committee to restore her old school house in Selma. She and several others are worked towards making Selma Junior High School a historical site. The building is used now for banquets and group meetings like the Masons and Eastern Star organization of which Mae is a member. Mae is also an active member of 16th Section Missionary Baptist Church.

Between fostering children, educating young people, working to restore historical buildings, and her active church membership, Mae’s life a book worth reading. Next time you’re in the library, introduce yourself and let Mae know you’re thankful for her life: One Monticello Life.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 5th, 2006 at 6:00 am and is filed under Feature: OML. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.