Recognition, Time and Again
As noted last month, during her early years in Hicksville, Miss Farley completed her Bachelors studies, and then earned a Masters, both at NYU. She did not simply get her degrees and leave her alma mater behind; rather, she played an active role as an alumna, and in 1933 she achieved special recognition for her work on behalf of the University.
Huntington Long-Islander, June 2, 1933
Note that the timing of the award corresponds to lowest point of the Great Depression of the 1930s, a moment in history at which the Student Loan Fund which Farley helped create would have assumed special importance for many people.
As one reads the things mentioned above, one sees new manifestations of the qualities which had made Farley successful in Hicksville's small, once-tumultuous school district - an exceptional willingness to volunteer her time; a generosity of spirit, which led her to maintain friendships and professional relations not just for her own benefit, but for the benefit of others; a keen mind that always found new ways to use her abilities, even in milieus in which opportunities for women might still be limited.
Principal Farley was not one to undertake any task lightly. The only way she knew to do things was to excel at them, and the only way she knew how to lead others was to inspire them to do their best.
In 1942, the Federal government needed more capital with which to fight World War II, and it created the Minute Man program, in which organizations competed by having their staff, attendees and their families commit to ongoing purchases of War Bonds. The competition was not about having the most sales or the most money; it was about the level of participation each organization achieved, with a figure of 90% considered exceptional. As one would expect, Miss Farley's Hicksville High did the town proud; it was the first high school in Nassau County to reach the exalted 90% level.
Nassau Daily Review-Star, January 16, 1943
Around this time, a newspaper published a profile of Mabel Farley, and in it, the subject did her best to deflect praise from herself, and to share the spotlight with the achievements of her past students.
She of course took time to mention those who had won academic honors, and those who had careers in, or were studying, medicine, engineering, and law (incidentally, at least one of the latter was by then a judge). At least eleven Hicksville graduates who had gone on to become teachers were at that time working in Hicksville's schools. But she also mentioned athletes who had graduated from her school - one had gone on to become a national women's fencing champion; another was then captain of the football team at American University. She praised others of her students generically - for example, those who had been placed in jobs by her "employment bureau," which operated out of the Principal's office. Miss Farley took the time to match graduating students with employers. She made sure that her pupils were diligent about following through on opportunities, and she was proud of all those who succeeded in their workplaces, thus making a number of local employers willing to hire more Hicksville graduates.
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