The school [was my inspiration]. My children had been finished with grammar school for a long time, but I kept pursuing it knowing that they needed a new school there. I mean the play yard was all broken in front of the school, the cement or whatever it was made of. So, I kept pursuing that and we did get a new school. They put in the new school and they put in the library, which we didn't have, and then they dedicated the library to Jane Petrella. If you want to go down, my picture is there. Again, it was a neighborhood event. We had a true artist in the village who painted my portrait. The "mothers’ club" engaged his doing it. I guess it is the "parents’ group" that they call it now. People come up to me and say, "Thank you for the school."
Jane Petrella was born in 1933 in Wheeling, West Virginia. Throughout this interview she speaks about her education through college and many of her experiences growing up with several brothers and sisters. Jane married Frank Petrella and they had six children together. Jane speaks about her children and the ways in which they inspired her to become an activist and a responsible member of the community. Jane and her family moved to Worcester in September of 1960 when her husband received a job at College of the Holy Cross where he would teach economics. Jane continues to be involved in her community and has been a respected activist in Worcester for many years.