On May 27, 1898, Marie Louise Richard and five classmates – Nettie F. Carley, Ernest M. Merrick, Grace E. Mahan, J. Henry Guerin, Leigh V. Tanner – graduated from the Little Falls High School in Little Falls, Minnesota. The commencement ceremonies were held at the Gross Opera House in downtown Little Falls and included an oration by each of the graduating students. Marie’s piece was “Mary, Queen of Scots”.
Marie Louise Richard was born on January 7, 1881, to Leon Edmond and Mary M. (Gendron) Richard. Marie was the oldest of nine children. Marie’s father, Leon, was an important figure in the Little Falls community. Leon served as president of the village council and secretary of the board of education and, with his brother, John, owned and operated Richard Bros. for thirty-two years. After graduation, Marie went to Canada where both her parents had been born and attended school for two years in Montreal. In 1905, she married Thomas Francis Myott in Little Falls and moved to Wadena, Minnesota. Thomas and Marie had five children – Edmund, Edith, Eva, Francis and Florence.
