Janet Connolly was a traveler

Snippet for a Tennyson poem seems to say much about her.

"...I cannot rest from Travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly both with
       those
That loved me, and alone; on shore and
       when
Thro scudding drift the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and Known, - cities of
      men
And manners, climates, councils, govern-
      ments
Myself not least, but honor'd of them
      all, --
And drunk delight of battle with my
      peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met...."

To the truly literate whom are academically familiar with this text, I apologize for any misinterpretation.

I came across an older book of poems by Tennyson that was given to my mother as a gift from hear family when she was growing up. 

Given the list of address before married life and the addresses after children, this seems right.

While I miss my mother, and spirituality aside, as an adult, it helps to perceive that mortality temporary. 

I am grateful for the time we (her sons) did have with our mother and father as we can know how they thought. That is the gift. And with my mother - there is a lot to figure out and know. 

Implcit Attitudes of the time Janet faced

"Woman, 45, weary of Baking Cookies, Wins a PhD Degree"

For the record - Mom was good with dinners, Christmas cookies and holiday meals. Sorry, Mom, for posting this headline, but I think it is educational of the times.

At this time, I would have been between in High School. Chris  was graduating from Council Rock. Mike and Matt were finishing College and Andrew was in the Intermediate or middle school. We were living 363 North Second Street Pike, between Churchville, and Richboro PA. We had been there for about 12 years.

The following was published in the "The Evening Bulletin" on June 20 1975, written by Fred Selby.

A mother of five boys, who decided in 1968 to stop being just another Bucks County housewife, has completed a study of justice in Pennsylvania

III general, and its suburbs in particular.

Janet E. Connolly, of Second Street pike. Northampton Township, won a seven year-struggle late last month to win a PhD in sociology with a dissertation on the court systems in the state.

The' 45-year-old brunette is the wife of Edward C. Connolly, a lawyer who a few years ago was defense counsel in Bucks County's most celebrated

murder trial-that of Mrs. Mary Mamon, who was convicted of a hammer murder in Levittown.

Ever since Mrs. Connolly was awarded her PhD from Temple University in Philadelphia on May 29 she's been entitled to be called "Dr. Connolly."

Joint Interview

While her husband is willing to accept the fact he's married to a liberated woman, he couldn't help commenting with a smile during a recent joint, "Any mail that comes for 'Dr. and Mrs. Connolly' gets thrown out." He also remarked. some women's lib really practiced in this house." His wife agreed, saying  her, before her return to education began in 1968,"I was very domestic - sewing, embroidering, cooking."

Nostalgically her husband said "We had some great cooking."  He added, "She kind of sneaked up on us. It was just going to be a few classes." Mrs. Connolly explained that here original intent was just to get a master's degree in sociology fit Temple.

Returns to Classrooms

One reason she went to graduate school, she said, was that she was tired of having men say to her, during discussions of serious topics, "Go home and bake cookies." She said, "I thought having a degree would add some weight to what I had to say." 

After she'd returned to classrooms in 1968 for the first time since she'd been graduated from Chestnut Hill College in 1953 shortly before her marriage, she decided she should go for her doctorate. One reason for this, she said was that she 'believed a PhD might make it easier" to get a job in her field. She now is doing research and counseling in the penology field.

Officials Interviewed

For her doctoral dissertation, she decided to make a study of the court system in Pennsylvania

Registry at Temple

Temple University will hold registration on for the second of three summer sessions in Pearson Han, Broad and Montgomery ave., on Tuesday from 9 A.M. to 7.30 P.M. and Wednesday from 9 A.M. to 2 P.M.

"To my knowledge," she said, "this is the first time that a sociologist has looked at a whole court system ... I can't for the life of me understand why sociologists have ignored the law." During her years of research, she worked about 50 hours a week on it, often until 2 and 3 in the morning. She interviewed dozens of judges, district attorneys, public defenders, court administrators, court clerks and bar association presidents. And perhaps most importantly, she made a "dogged" search of court records, especially those of the state's Superior and Supreme courts. Her research tends to shatter some long-held beliefs of Pennsylvania's Court observers. One of these is that justice in criminal cases is being -thwarted by a large number of successful appeals by defense lawyers who seize on technicalities.

Research Results

Dr. Connolly's research shows that of all the criminal cases entering the legal system in Pennsylvania in an average year, only 1 percent are appealed. And of these appeals, only 15 percent are successful, in other words, even if the high courts were wrong every time they upheld an appeal in a criminal case, they still would be thwarting only one-sixth of 1 percent of all the criminal justice dispensed in the state.

Another belief-shattering discovery that Dr. Connolly made is that sentences of the courts in Philadelphia - far from being the extreme example of lenience that some suburban and rural critics say they are - are among the stiffest in the state. 

Of all the sentences to state institutions made by courts in Pennsylvania, Dr. Connolly discovered, the average sentence is .6.9 years in prison. 

Weakness Found

Philadelphia's sentences to state institutions average 11 years. Sentences in Bucks and Montgomery counties, she said, are slightly below average. Of her broader conclusions, Dr. Connolly said, "In general, the greatest weakness I found was the extent to which the political system penetrates the legal system."

She recommends that the courts be made financially self-sufficient though fines and fees, instead of having to continue relying on hand-outs from boards of commissioners. Dr Connolly said that during her seven-year struggle to win her PhD, she was forced to have her five sons be far more independent at home than they'd been before. And her husband, too. Connolly nodded in agreement, sighed and said. I learned a little bit of cooking. I had to."

The Connolly's agree that the extra independence has been good for their sons, who range in age from 12 to 22 years.

Pics of Janet as a teenager

Front Page Coverage

"New Hope Borough's First Lady is headed for Sophia, Bulgaria. Janet Connolly will teach at American University" was the headline on the Front page of the New Hope Gazette in  the Sept 5 1991 edition.

 The article was written by Jack Creamer

The following is the text of the article:

     It seems New Hope will soon be without its First  Lady. Janet Connolly, wife of Mayor Ed Connolly, will be leaving next week to take up an assignment at the newly opened American University in Sophia, Bulgaria.
     The appointment is for one year, during which Mrs.Connolly will be serving as an associate professor in the Social Sciences Department, teaching classes in cultural anthropology and sociology as well as political science.
     The way was cleared for the trip by the granting of a leave of absence from Connolly's present position as coordinator of the Department of Criminal Justice at Temple University's Ambler campus where'she has served since 1982. She formerly served on the faculty and Board of Directors of Bucks
County Community College and as an instructor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

     Connolly received her BA degree from Chestnut HilI College, then went on to acquire an M.A. and Ph.D.from Temple. She has received scores of honors and awards over the years for her research, teaching and writing in the field of corrections and criminal justice.
     Despite all the thrills and achievements of a distinguished career, Connolly admits to being in a high state
of excitement and anticipation as she prepares for the journey.
     "Imagine," she said recently, "a brand new job in a brand new university in a country I've never even seen
or known much about. I'm looking forward to a really exciting year." The Mayor echoed much of his wife's feelings. "I'm just delighted for Janet," he said. "I know very little about Bulgaria, but I hope to
know a lot more a year from now."

The line in the song was "3 times a lady"...that was an understatement for my mother

The Dandry Family - Pre WWII - Janet with Sister Carol, Mother and Father

Believed to be shortly after Janet and Ed met in college in the 40's/post war



As an adjunct professor - one of her longest roles that Janet enjoyed the most

AUTOBIOGRAPHY - Part 1 - Why

In addition to her academic writings, Janet wrote a number of self published journal telling different elements of her life and travels. The following is one of her last writings. It is a start of an autobiography. This was written around 2009 when she was still in Annapolis.

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WHY AM I WRITING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?

You may very well ask! Why my life and times? My hopes and fears? Most of all, I think this memoir is intended for my grandchildren (and any of my sons who might be interested - but primarily for the grandchildren) Simply put, I guess I would like my grandchildren to know who and what I am. We cannot be with each other very often - some of that is my own doing: some cannot be helped: distance, the busy hectic schedules their families have, and as someone pointed out - in this electronic age, quick ephemeral phone calls or emails take the place of the letters revealed what we were doing, thinking in the past. In my own case, I know that it wasn't until I was middle aged that I began to wish I had asked my grandparents questions about their lives - what was it like in Italy, what was the trip to America like, why did they come, what was it like when they first arrived, etc, etc - but it was too late - they were already gone.

This document can (if I am successful) present a picture of me and my times that my grandchildren might not otherwise have. To some extent I suppose, I also hope that by laying out my moral values and the principles that have guided me, they can benefit from those they want to keep and avoid those that don't fit them.

For another thing, I think I have lived through some very interesting years - the events and changes which occurred during the past 78 years, as well as the ways in which they affected my experiences may be of interest. It might enable them to see the amazing kinds of transformations possible in one person's life, and particularly, a woman's life in the 20th century - even granting that not all chages were necessarily good, or of my own choosing.

Another reason for writing this biography is that I think I want to see myself , and my life, my choices in some kind of perspective. Reaching the age of 78 is no big deal, but having to retire because of Ed's stroke, and coming to realize I have no great dreams or ambitions left, it gives me the time - and an outlet - to make the past available, to possibly make it a part of the context in which I am currently living, but also by putting all together, perhaps  I can still develop some insights or learn something new about human nature, society or me.

Another part of it, if I am to be honest, is I have nothing else of interest to do. I do enjoy writing - I always have, but to a great extent I am filling time and simultaneously organizing papers, photos, memorabilia that will eventually have to be given or thrown away. I started this business of putting together accounts o our and other peoples lives by typing up and creating a journal of Frank X. Connolly notes - from an old copy book of his experiences in the US Air Corps during WWI. Some time later I did journals of Ed's WWII service in the Phillipines, his career in law and politics, our trips west in the motor home, the boys growing up, Ed's and my trip to the Soviet Union, the return visit to New Hope of our Soviet friends, Karinna and Sergei, my semesters in England and France as well as our experiences in Bulgaria.

Mother and 4th son...a starting point and an ending

This was taken in the Frankford ave house, near the Pennypack Creek and St Dominics in Northeast Philadelphia.

My father's parents lived around the corner from the Water ice shop.

This was approx 1962/63...not in the winter.