Early life
During her early years, Freedman trained as a dancer at the Alice P. Duffee Dance Studio in Salem, Massachusetts. With the school's professional troupe she performed for several years throughout the North Shore. [10] After graduating from the Academie Moderne in Boston, a finishing school founded by Mildred Albert, she began a modeling career. [11] She joined the Hart Model Agency in Boston and worked as a fashion and photography model throughout college. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Her career as a vocalist carried her throughout New England. She sang with orchestras led by Bob Batchelder, [17] Ted Herbert, [18] and Earle Harris. [19] They played at popular ballrooms of the day including the Totem Pole Ballroom in Norumbega Park, Auburndale; Commodore Ballroom in Lowell, Massachusetts; Carousel Ballroom in Manchester, New Hampshire; Rockingham Ballroom in Newmarket, New Hampshire; Canobie Lake Ballroom in Salem, New Hampshire; and Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. In December 1959, she performed with the Earle Harris Orchestra at the Oceanview Ballroom in Revere Beach, Massachusetts. They were the last band to play the popular establishment before it was destroyed by fire. [20] Freedman also performed throughout the Greater Boston area with the Harry Marshard Society Orchestra. [21]
While pursuing graduate studies in Washington, D.C., Freedman continued her singing career. With orchestras and her own small combo, the Commanders, she performed at country clubs as well as civic, military, and social galas. [22] The venues included the Sheraton-Park, Shoreham, Statler-Hilton, and Mayflower Hotel. [23]
Personal life
Freedman was raised in Peabody, Massachusetts. Upon graduation from Peabody High School, she attended Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, majoring in sociology. She graduated magna cum laude and valedictorian [24] and went on to pursue graduate studies in sociology for two years at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She then became a teacher and left behind her singing career. "I love music," she [told a reporter], "but when I turned to teaching I sort of found myself entering another stage of my life. Somehow, I didn't think that teaching and entertaining were compatible. By today's standards, I suppose that no one would think anything of the combination." [25]
Freedman taught at Peabody High School, Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner, Massachusetts, and North Shore Community College in Beverly, Massachusetts. She served as research assistant to Charles F. Westoff, Ph.D., Princeton University, and Raymond H. Potvin, Ph.D., Catholic University, for College Women and Fertility Values (1967). In 1968, she married Eugene F. Connolly, who served for many years as Professor and Professor Emeritus at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Massachusetts. [26] [27] They settled in Danvers, Massachusetts, where they raised their four children: a son and three daughters. After earning a master's degree in Guidance and Counseling from Salem State College in 1980, she worked at North Shore Technical High School in Middleton, Massachusetts for twenty-one years as a guidance counselor. She is past president of Northeast Counselors Association. Since 1994, she has served as editor of the Counselor's Notebook, [28] the monthly publication of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association. In 2011, she was recipient of a MASCA 50th Anniversary Tribute Award.
After the death of her husband of thirty-seven years, Freedman found solace in creating a literary scrapbook of her husband's writings. [29] [30] Her husband had written: "One of the peculiarities of death is that it can stop the breath, but it cannot still the voice of one we love." [31] She captured that voice in her self-published book and helped to perpetuate his legacy. [32] In the process, Freedman discovered a new creative outlet: writing. She continued to pen articles about health, education, and lifestyle issues, and she became a regular contributor to her community newspaper, The Danvers Herald. [33] Her columns are now syndicated nationally through Senior Wire News Service. [34] Online she writes for www.go60.us. Her books include:
- A Boy from Lawrence: The Collected Works of Eugene F. Connolly (2005)
- Never Better: All Things Considered (2007)
- Matters on My Mind: MOMM (2011)
- More on My Mind: MOMM (2012) [35]
- More that Matters (2013) [36]
Peabody is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 54,481 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Peabody is located in the North Shore region of Massachusetts, and is known for its rich industrial history.
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Gloucester and Revere. Originally known as Salem Village, the town is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials. It was also the site of Danvers State Hospital, one of the state's 19th-century psychiatric hospitals. Danvers is a local center of commerce, hosting many car dealerships and the Liberty Tree Mall. As of the 2020 United States Census, the town's population was 28,087.
Susie Castillo is an American actress, TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who held the Miss USA title and competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants. She pursued a career in the media, making various television appearances and hosting shows such as MTV's Total Request Live as a VJ.
María Stella Márquez-Araneta, often styled as Madame Stella Márquez de Araneta, is a Colombian-Filipino pageant director and beauty queen. She grew up in New York City then later migrated to Colombia, where she became a pageant titleholder. As Miss Colombia, she was crowned the first Miss International in 1960. She obtained her Filipino citizenship via naturalization in 1970.
Adriana Molinari, known professionally as Alex Taylor, is a former beauty pageant winner, model, exotic dancer, and pornographic actress who mainly worked for Vivid Entertainment from around 1998 to 2000.
Martha Maria Cordeiro Vasconcellos is a Brazilian beauty queen who became her country's second Miss Universe winner, after Ieda Maria Vargas first achieved the feat in 1963. She also became the fifth Latin American to win the title, after Peru's Gladys Zender in 1957, Colombia's Luz Marina Zuluaga in 1958 and Argentina's Norma Nolan in 1962. Vasconcellos is a native of the state of Bahia.
Massachusetts's 6th congressional district is located in northeastern Massachusetts. It contains most of Essex County, including the North Shore and Cape Ann, as well as part of Middlesex County. It is represented by Seth Moulton, who has represented the district since January 2015. The shape of the district went through minor changes effective from the elections of 2012 after Massachusetts congressional redistricting to reflect the 2010 census. The towns of Tewksbury and Billerica were added, along with a small portion of the town of Andover.
Shawnae Nicole Jebbia is an American entertainer and beauty pageant titleholder who won the Miss USA 1998.
The Miss Massachusetts USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Massachusetts in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently produced by The Clemente Organization based in Malden, Massachusetts, which also produces the Maine pageant.
Salem Willows is an oceanfront park in Salem, Massachusetts. It is named for the European white willow trees planted there in 1801 to form a shaded walk for patients convalescing at a nearby smallpox hospital. The area became a public park in 1858, and in the twentieth century became a summer destination for residents of Boston's North Shore, many of whom escaped the heat of the city on newly popular streetcars. On June 10, 1880 the park opened with many amusement park additions. It covers over 35 acres and includes beaches, a pier, a yacht club, and a boardwalk with arcades and restaurants. There are many areas for recreational activities including social gatherings and picnicking. There are gazebos, a small stage area, and tennis and basketball courts. There is an amusement park called Kiddieland with a carousel that survives to this day with a few other rides that are for children only, as well as a miniature golf course. There are two small beaches located on the Willows which is a common place for tourists to go and see the surrounding cities and towns. The beaches are also a common place to watch the 4th of July fireworks since you can see three sets of fireworks; Salem, Beverly, and Marblehead. The Salem Trolley stops at the park.
Myrna Hansen is an American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1953.
Aliza Gur is an Israeli actress who was Miss Israel of 1960 and a semifinalist in the Miss Universe pageant held in Miami Beach that same year. She played Vida in the James Bond film From Russia with Love in 1963.
Bishop Fenwick High School is a private Roman Catholic high school in Peabody, Massachusetts. While located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, the school is operated independently and with the blessing of the Archdiocese. Students who attend Bishop Fenwick come from over 40 towns and communities in New England, primarily those closest to the campus such as Saugus, Salem, Peabody, Beverly, Marblehead, and Danvers, Massachusetts. The school also has a small number of international students, having welcomed its first international students in 2014.
The Salem News is an American daily newspaper serving southern Essex County, Massachusetts. Although the paper is named for the city of Salem, its offices are now in nearby Danvers, Massachusetts. The newspaper is published Monday through Saturday afternoons by Eagle-Tribune Publishing Company, a subsidiary of CNHI.
Sylvia Gomes, is a beauty queen from Bridgeport, Connecticut who has competed in the Miss America pageant. Gomes worked as a reporter for ABC40, an ABC affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts, during 2003 and 2004.
Miss USA 1964 was the 13th Miss USA pageant, held in Miami Beach, Florida on July 29, 1964. This was the last Miss USA pageant to be held as an inclusive part of the Miss Universe event.
Stefanie Guillen Evangelista is a beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Aruba 2013 and was represented her Aruba at the Miss Universe 2013 pageant.
Danvers High School (DHS) is a public high school in Danvers, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Danvers Public Schools school district.
Meagan Elise Fuller is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Attleboro, Massachusetts, who was named Massachusetts' Junior Miss 2010 and crowned Miss Massachusetts 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015.
Miss United States 1961, also referred to as Miss World USA 1961, was the 4th edition of the Miss United States World pageant and it was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City, New York and was won by Jo Ann Odum of West Virginia. She was crowned by outgoing titleholder, Judith Ann Achter of Missouri. Odum went on to represent the United States at the Miss World 1961 Pageant in London later that year. She finished in the Top 7 at Miss World.
