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Biography:
Biography:
For all that Mary Frost's husband was a very famous and accomplished man, I have not had an easy time coming up with verifiable information about Mary herself. What follows represents my best guesses based on the tidbits that I have been able to discover.
Mary E Hazard was born December 1870 in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents were Marshall C Hazard and Elizabeth Wyman Adams. Mary was the third child, with elder brothers Henry and George. There would be two younger brothers as well, Frank and William, and a little sister Caroline. By the 1880 census the family was living in Wheaton, DuPage cty, Illinois. Records are silent after that time, and I have not been able to construct much of a timeline for Mary's adult life.
She married her husband, Edwin Brant Frost, in Boston, Massachusetts, but I am not sure what brought her to Boston. Her family may have relocated there, but I also found a Mary E Hazard as a student at Wellesley College, just outside of Boston, in 1892 and 1893 which would coincide with the years that Mary would have attended college. The 1940 census does say that Mary completed 3 years of a college education, so this seems a likely scenario.
Wellesley College, near Boston, MA
Edwin B Frost
Mary's husband Edwin B Frost, whom she married on 19 November 1896, was a remarkable person, a gifted astronomer and a "renaissance man" of his time. He was associated with Dartmouth College, among several other esteemed centers of higher learning, and served as teacher, investigator, lecturer and editor in the field of astronomy. His research and discoveries brought him fame in his field, but Edwin's interests went beyond even the vast expanse of the heavens. He was a lover of birds and flowers and appreciated both music and fine literature, two interests that he shared with his wife Mary, and he spoke German and French.
The couple lived from 1900 to 1920 in Walworth, Wisconsin where they raised a family of one daughter, Katherine, and two sons, Frederick and Benjamin. Sadly, Edwin lost sight in one eye in 1915 and in the other eye by 1921. But this did not stop his energetic drive to research and contribute to academia in his latter years. There is a very good article about Mr. Frost that can be read here.
By 1930, Mary and Edwin were living in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. Edwin died in 1935, leaving Mary a widow who struggled with some physical ailments of her own that are alluded to by Thomas Dreier who wrote the forward to her book of poems. She spent her last years between her winter home in St. Petersburg, Florida and her Williams Bay home in Wisconsin. Apparently Mary persevered, as had her husband, and she had her book published by Ralph Fletcher Seymour Publishers of Chicago in 1951 at the age of 81. She dedicated the book to her grandchildren, and on the final page of my copy is hand written the following: "To You who have read through this diversification in Verse, Happy Landing! Mary Frost." The book has some pen and ink drawings that illustrate some of the poems, but no illustrator is listed. Mary died at her Florida winter home in November 1955, age 85. She was writing her auto-biography before she died, which was never completed.
Fun in Verse
Fun in Verse
(1951)
(1951)
by Mary Hazard Frost
by Mary Hazard Frost
Northern Lights
Northern Lights
December
December
The Aurora Borealis
flashing, streaming, pulsating,
sometimes meeting overhead,
makes your own heart pulsate faster
as the sky is overspread
with the strange and eerie light.
What a spectacular Drama
of the power and the might
of the Sun in producing
such a Play of Delight.
Mother Earth,
protected by her white mantle,
stands breathless in soft stillness,
sparkling star crystals for a crown,
cuddling folds of floating snow
in her arms,
tiny foot-prints
of her hungry children
at her feet
on this White Christmas Day.
Punctuation Marks
Punctuation Marks
The Astronomer
The Astronomer
Mrs. Brace and Mrs. Bracket
said to Mrs. Parenthesis
Between us, this is a matter
for everybody to discuss.
Mr. Colon, a character,
has a wife, Semi, who complains
that Mrs. Caret forever
talks about words that are left out.
Mrs. Apostrophe was said
to live a life too possessive.
Mr. Comma paused to declare
that the Interrogation Point
was a questionable affair.
Mr. Dash spoke with some fire
on those queer Exclamation Points!
Mr. Hyphen then mentioned Joints.
Mrs. Asterisk and her friend
Mr. Dagger, referred to their
voluminous footnotes about
Periods, Parallels and Quotes.
While the sun
lights the rest of the world,
the ardent watcher of the skies,
through the long winter nights,
clad in fur from top to toe,
and with fingers numb,
must not sleep but keep alert
to his humdrum task.
With eyes glued to the telescope,
he forgets this small earth,
lives only in terms of the Universe.
At last the dawn. Weary, he hears
a cheery meow. How can his
Johnny cat always know
when it is time to see him home!
Where is that latch?
But soon the Astronomer
dreams of stars and roses
with warmth and love in his arms.
Memory Exercise
Memory Exercise
Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt
Numbers are often confusing
Can be, however, amusing
if you will try to multiply
Two by Two, Three by Three, straight on
through Ten, each one to a trillion.
Such a good test, to remember
not to forget, and that as yet,
you're neither lazy nor crazy.
But I can't seem to remember
your telephone number.
I look not
for material things
but for
soul-satisfying
wings of thought
that bring me
guidance,
opportunities
to serve,
a mind alert,
friendships rare,
a challenging book,
a forward look,
a sunrise,
not the end
of day.
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