HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-05-30 Proclamation
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Honoring Dr. Clara Lincoln Swan on the Occasion of Her 95 Birthday
WHEREAS, Dr. Clara Swan was born in 1912 in Princeton, Maine and weighed 1.5 pounds. The
doctor told her parents that they should take her home and keep her warm as she
was not expected to survive. Clara spent the first days of her life wrapped up in a
shoebox close to the family’s kitchen wood stove and was fed with an eyedropper;
and
WHEREAS, Her family moved to Brewer where she graduated from Brewer High School as
Valedictorian in 1930; she then attended Husson College when the school was known
as the Maine School of Commerce, receiving her degree in 1933 and beginning a
career in education; and
WHEREAS, after teaching at Mexico High School and Foxcroft Academy, Clara returned to Husson
College in 1939, where she served for 35 years as a teacher, coach, dean,
department head, and vice president, and during which time she received a B.S. in
Business Education from American International College and a Masters in Education
from the University of Maine; and
WHEREAS, Clara’s became a women’s basketball coaching legend at Husson, achieving a 19 year
record of 241 wins with only 34 losses, recording two undefeated seasons, and
teaching generations of young women not only about basketball, but the more
important intangible lessons of athletic competition and how, with hard work,
perseverance and determination, you can accomplish anything; and
WHEREAS, Clara remains actively involved in the community by volunteering at St. Joseph
Hospital, the YWCA, the Girl Scouts, and as a Trustee at the Edith Dyer Library,
Eastern Area Agency on Aging, RSVP, Altrusa International, and the Husson College
Alumni board;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD D. GREENE, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF BANGOR, on behalf
of the City Council and citizens of Bangor, do hereby offer our sincere best wishes to Dr. Clara Swan
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as she celebrates her 95 birthday. Further, we express our appreciation to Clara for her countless
hours of dedication to education and volunteer service. Her dedication to our community and our
state serves as a model for us all.
Given this the 30th day of May 2007.
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Mayor Richard D. Greene