She led the campaign at Marshfield High School to include an image of a female Pirate in the school’s mascot logo. Mary Paczesniak is a Marshfield graduate whose fingerprints can be found all over the Pirate Palace where many former athletes are honored in the foyer and Heritage Hall. In the past, it was mostly males honored, but thanks to Paczesniak who spear-headed the effort along with others, the southwest corner is now a gallery solely dedicated to past Marshfield female athletes. Her “setting the record” straight effort hasn’t stopped at her high school alma mater. Paczesniak also attended Oregon State University at Corvallis, where she played volleyball as well as a year of basketball for the Beavers, wants to help correct the OSU’s women’s athletic history. She was successful in getting the Beavers to update their volleyball records, but then came the recent success of OSU’s women’s basketball and a media straining to hang a hat on something, “When it was announced this past basketball season that this year was “the 3rd time in program history that the Oregon State women’s basketball team began the season 10-0”, I couldn’t continue to be quiet. I didn’t play basketball myself (other than freshman year) but I know that my 4 years were years 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Oregon State women’s basketball being undefeated for the entire season. 8 straight years undefeated. Of course they didn’t play the extensive schedule they play now, but surely, they played at least 10 games/season. So back on my bandwagon I jumped.” One of her suggestions in recapturing OSU’s women’s athletics history is to invite former athletes back to Corvallis to share their experiences, while others document their words to accurately build a better history of OSU’s women’s athletics. One of those interviews will take place Tuesday, May 14, 2024, and Mary Paczesniak, soapbox and all, has been invited to share her knowledge along with three other former OSU athletes inside the Reser Stadium Loge, 11 a.m.
