New Hampshire s and Portsmouth s first female mayor, Mary Carey Dondero, is well-represented in the Portsmouth Athenaeum s archives, with the details of her life outlined in several thick folders of letters, photographs and newspaper articles.
A photo from February 1937 shows N.H. House of Representatives member Dondero (1894-1960) proposing a 48-hour work week. Ten men in suits and ties sit around her, leaning in and listening intently as she talked about the bill she introduced on behalf of Gov. Francis P. Murphy. It was signed into law a month later.
Her daughter, Eileen Foley, who served eight terms as Portsmouth mayor, recalled in a late 1990s interview with Denise J. Wheeler that her mother was known as the Sweetheart of the House.