This is the story of a woman inspired by the pursuit of education while raising five children and managing the Gordon House, an inn located at 80 Hamilton Street in Holyoke.
Dora Hollup was born in Holyoke in 1884. Until the age of 12, she attended the Hamilton Street School, like many youngsters of her age. This changed due to family circumstances. There were sixteen children in the household, and she was the oldest. Dora's mother had significant health problems and needed assistance managing the household. Dora dropped out of school and cared for her mother and siblings over the next 20 years.
It was also during this time that Dora Hollup, then 19 years old, married Abraham Z. Gordon in 1904. She continued being of assistance to her mother and younger siblings while also attending to her own children. She also managed the Gordon House, an inn her husband owned at 80 Hamilton Street, and where he family resided. She rarely regretted her action in helping out her family in deference to her own education.
In 1925, Dora was 41 years old. Her son Samuel was attending M.I.T., and another son, Isadore, was soon to attend Cornell. She took on 36 boarders to assist in paying for their education. She still had three pre-teen school-aged children at home, the youngest of whom was five years old. The education of her children was paramount, as was her desire to return and complete her own education.
In September 1925, she returned to school and was placed in the sixth grade. Her teachers were very understanding, and the concern of being ridiculed by fellow students diminished, as they enjoyed each other's company.
She completed her sixth-grade education in one month and, by the end of that school year, completed her seventh- and eighth-grade education at Morgan Junior High School. As her sons, Sidney and Maurice, were in the junior high school at the same time, she was able to assist with their homework when needed.
Dora and her children would return home from school at lunchtime to prepare the evening meal. After school closed at 3:30 P.M., she would spend her waking time studying at a table she had set up next to her bed.
In June 1927, Dora graduated from Morgan Jr. High School and was ready to further her education at Holyoke High School. One of her goals was to pursue writing after completing her education.
The skepticism of her younger children vanished, and they were supportive of their mother's academic pursuits.
Dora Gordon graduated from Holyoke High School in 1930. She completed seven years of education in five years. In high school, she pursued challenging college preparatory courses, including French, Latin, and Geometry. She felt that her quest for education, pursued concurrently with her younger children, created a stronger and more joyful bond with them.
Dora Gordon was now forty-five years old, and her plans were in focus. She had set her vision on attending college. In 1931, she relocated to New York and attended Columbia University for two years, where she majored in journalism.
Dora Gordon penned a novel titled Cathy O'Hara in the mid-1950s. She passed away on October 22, 1957. Her book was published posthumously in January 1958. The Gordon family established an annual cash award at Holyoke High School presented to a senior who formerly attended Morgan School, "for meritorious accomplishments beyond the requirements of the curriculum."
Dora Gordon was a caretaker, mother, inn-keeper, and businesswoman with an ambitious thirst for her own and her family's education. As she was quoted as saying about her plans after high school, "College? Why not? This is a fast-moving world we are living in today and we can't afford to sit back and let everything pass by."...(It) seemed a hard thing to do, but I did it. I don't want to stop now. After I have had a year's rest, I'm planning on going to college."
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates and pages are shown.
Holyoke Public Library History Room, Price & Lee City Directories, Holyoke, Massachusetts.
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