Mary Hayes Davis

Mary Hayes Davis (c. 1884 – May 18, 1948) was an American writer, a newspaper editor and publisher, and the owner of several movie theaters. She is best known as the co-author of Chinese Fables and Folk Stories, which she wrote with Reverend Chow Leung, while based in Chicago. Published in 1908 and widely reprinted today, the compilation claimed to be “the first book of Chinese stories ever printed in English”. and later owned and operated a chain of seven movie theaters. In 1928, The Hendry County News received the Florida Newspaper Association award for Best Community News Service. and grew up on a farm.

Chinese Fables and Folk Stories

In the early 1900s, Davis received on-the-job training in Chicago as a reporter and features writer for one of the major daily newspapers. Her reporting brought her into contact with people from "old" Chinatown, including Reverend Chow Leung, pastor of the Central Baptist Chinese Mission.

Around this time, a widely syndicated newspaper article had stated, "There is no perfect collection of Chinese fables." Davis was intrigued when she discovered that Chinese folktales did in fact exist. Wang Tsen-Zan of the University of Chicago wrote the introduction for the book, explaining that it was the first compilation of Chinese fables of its kind translated into English. The book was particularly well received by education journals. The Journal of Education called Chinese Fables and Folk Stories "a delightful little reader", while The Elementary School Teacher commended the co-authors for their efforts in providing "glimpses" into "a different life". and Cat Tales and Kitten Tails, Volume I. Mary Hayes Davis wrote the verses for Cat Tales and Kitten Tails, while her co-author Jennie Van Allen wrote the stories. The Los Angeles Herald called Cat Tales a "beautiful book" featuring "cat stories of every sort" which "exemplify the intelligence of these animals and their loyalty to friends or their mistresses." Between 1908 and 1912, Davis made several visits to Oklahoma and Arizona to collect stories. Although she wrote a series of American Indian tales, in addition to working as a journalist. and was active in the Social Economics Club. A member of the Chicago chapter of the Cat Fanciers' Association, she had a cream-colored Persian cat named Wu Tingfang. Named after the Chinese ambassador to the United States, her cat won a blue ribbon in 1909.

Davis then moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was a senior copywriter for Kaufmann's department store. She also became a member of the Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh. and helped to raise money for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

She left St. Louis due to illness and spent some time in Kansas,

Newspaper publishing in Florida Davis moved to Florida during the "land boom" of the 1920s, intending to buy an orange grove and retire. From 1922 to 1923, she worked as the associate editor of the Polk County Record, a newspaper published twice a week in Bartow, Florida.

Within months, she purchased the local newspaper, and became editor and publisher of The Hendry County News, also known as LaBelle News. At The Hendry County News, Davis wrote news articles and editorials, sold advertisements, and did the layout. She eventually employed a linotype operator, but did the rest of the work at the newspaper herself. In 1928, The Hendry County News received the Florida Newspaper Association award for Best Community News Service at its annual convention. In 1933, she sold the newspaper to Keathley Bowden, who ran The Clewiston News. The mob violence was triggered by a misunderstanding with Mrs. Bennett Crawford, who saw him approach her house and started screaming. Although the lynchers ultimately went unpunished, the grand jury criticized Sheriff Dan L. McLaughlin for his failure to protect Henry Patterson and recommended his removal from office. The first film shown was a Western. Davis was left with two bullet holes in the silver screen, where an audience member had shot the villain. Soon Davis commissioned a new movie theatre to be built in LaBelle. She also built a 300-seat movie theater in the Harlem district of Clewiston for African Americans. The Harlem Theater was bombed with dynamite, which delayed its opening in 1938. Davis's theaters in Clewiston did well as the local community began to thrive.

She died at her home in Fort Myers, Florida, on May 18, 1948.

Written works

Books Chinese Fables and Folk Stories, with Chow Leung (Wikisource) In the Realm of Make-Believe and Other Fairy Tales in Rhyme Cat Tales and Kitten Tails, Vol. I, with Jennie Van Allen

Correspondence

Letter to Carlos Montezuma, 1908 (CARLI Digital Collections)

Articles

The News of Hendry County, 1926 (Excerpt from Lynching in LaBelle)