Mary Ellen Withrow to be inducted into Marion County Hall of Fame

A Marion County icon will be honored by the Marion County Historical Society in October.

Mary Ellen Withrow, the first person ever to hold the office of treasurer at the county, state, and federal levels of government, will be inducted into the Marion County Hall of Fame on Sunday, Oct. 2 during a dinner and ceremony in her honor at All Occasions Catering in Waldo.

Brandi Wilson, executive director of the Marion County Historical Society, said Withrow's induction ceremony is special for two reasons. First, Oct. 2 will be her 92nd birthday. Secondly, she will be the first living person ever to be inducted into the Marion County Hall of Fame.

"There's so much more to her and so many layers to Mary Ellen," Wilson said. "Her whole life prepared her for where her career took her. There are little key points throughout her whole story that just led to her being the treasurer for the United States, which is so impressive. For me, as a young woman, to read about her in the newspaper, her career is just so incredible. First, she's here working in Marion County and the next time there's an election, she's working at the state level.

"To see that and to see that there were those possibilities for somebody from a small town going on to do great things is really just amazing."

Withrow, age 91, served as the 40th Treasurer of the United States from 1994 to 2001, appointed to the position by President Bill Clinton. She served as U.S. Treasurer when the $5, $10, $20, $40, and $100 bills were redesigned in the 1990s. Withrow holds a Guinness World Record for having her name on more paper currency than anyone else in the country's history.

The Marion County native served as the 42nd Treasurer of the State of Ohio from 1983 to 1994. Prior to that, she served as Marion County Treasurer from 1977 to 1983.

Withrow began her career in public office in 1969 when she was elected to the Elgin Local School District Board of Education. She was the first woman elected to the school board in the Elgin Local School District.

Wilson explained that based on the criteria for people to be inducted into the Marion County Hall of Fame, "people typically are deceased before they're inducted. It requires a special vote to be inducted as a living person."

"We're really excited, not only to have her be inducted into the hall of fame, but we also have her collection (at the historical society) now," Wilson said.

In June of this year, the Marion County Historical unveiled the new Mary Ellen Withrow Collection, which is located in its own gallery on the lower level of Heritage Hall.

Withrow said during the dedication of her collection that she hopes the exhibit will provide both education and inspiration for those who visit it at the Marion County Historical Society.

"I hope they realize the things that were accomplished and the things that happened and how hard it was to get there," Withrow said. "It was a lot of struggle to achieve all those things and it's very important to do that if you have the opportunity."

During the dedication of that collection, former Ohio governor and congressman Ted Strickland, a longtime admirer of Withrow, was a surprise guest at the ribbon-cutting event for the Withrow Collection.

"She is the First Lady of Ohio and someone that is a historical figure, and this proves it," Strickland remarked.

The City of Marion honored Withrow during the most recent city council meeting as Mayor Scott Schertzer presented her with a proclamation declaring Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, as Mary Ellen Withrow Day and commemorating her induction into the county hall of fame.

Schertzer listed Withrow as one of the "three greatest public servants that the state has seen in decades," including her with Sen. Sherrod Brown and the late Sen. John Glenn. Schertzer either worked for or was part of the campaign teams for all three of them in the past.

"Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of good public officials out there in the state, and sometimes on both sides of the political aisle," Schertzer noted. "Those are just the three that gave me the foundation that I needed, that I appreciated, that I learned from, and that allowed me to come back home and run for city council, become mayor, and have led me to where I am today."

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Mary Ellen Withrow to be inducted into Marion County Hall of Fame