When Mary Peek, age 82, of Inver Grove Heights, died on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2004, she was eulogized in the Minneapolis and St. Paul newspapers with special articles.

In those articles, plus

a news release issued by the Associated Press, her connection with this city was emphasized with this quotation: &uot;She was the first female lifeguard in her hometown, Albert Lea…&uot;

Now, before I explain more about this 1940 graduate of Albert Lea High School, let’s justify the headline used on this column.

On Aug. 22, 1970, Mary Larson Peek, had gone to dinner with her husband, Roland, who is also a former Albert Lea resident. They had parked their car in the ramp at Dayton’s St. Paul store. She went into the ladies’ restroom. As Mary was brushing her hair in front of a mirror, a time bomb with a 2-pound stick of dynamite placed in a nearby wastepaper basket exploded.

Mary’s lungs were seared, eardrums broken, and her body pierced with shrapnel and debris. She spent three months in the hospital. Mary had to end her teaching career and suffered with the aftereffects of the explosion for the rest of her life.

However, this bomb in the ladies’ restroom was just a decoy. Another nearby bomb, 10 times more powerful, would have destroyed the store and killed and injured many of the police officers and firemen who responded to the initial blast. Fortunately, the second explosive device was found and defused.

A 15-year-old alleged member of the Black Panther group was later found guilty of attempted murder and sent to prison for three years.

Mary Jane Larson certainly grew up in Albert lea. As I mentioned in one of my columns back in August 2004, the John P. and Ida Larson family lived at 212 Johnson Street from 1928 to about 1942 to 1945.

Those four August columns, by the way, were based on information sent to me by Mary’s brother, Robert G. &uot;Bob&uot; Larson of Springfield, Ill.

The Larson family lived next to the municipal beach at the west end of Johnson Street. This family, especially the three children, were literally part of the era when this beach area was being developed. Thus, the statement that Mary was the city’s first female lifeguard is certainly valid.

In the 1930s the city had constructed a combination of bathhouse and concession stand at the beach. Bob, who was the beach custodian and a lifeguard in 1937, asked the city’s park superintendent if his mother and sisters could operate the place as a business venture. As a result, Ida Larson and her two daughters, Mary and Margaret Ann, and a few part time helpers were involved with the bathhouse operations and concession stand sales for several seasons.

Mary also became a lifeguard at the city’s beach on Fountain Lake during her years as a high school student and possibly during summer vacation time while attending college as well.

Mary Larson’s entry in the 1940 Albert Lea High School Yearbook shows she was involved with several dramatic presentations, served on the Ah La Ha Sa student newspaper staff and a member of Quill and Scroll organization as a junior and senior, and a member of the Honor Society. Several of these listings indicate Mary’s early and strong interest in literary activities.

An excellent summary of Mary’s life after leaving Albert Lea was published on page 8 of the Jan. 6, 2005, issue of the Tribune.

One detail in this eulogy confirmed the fact that Mary Peek was the author of the 1980 book, &uot;The Awful Lightning,&uot; based on her life and recovery from the injuries inflicted by the restroom bombing 34 years ago which certainly made her the state’s best known terrorist victim.