Queer Places:
Trinity Neighborhood House, 406 Meridian St, Boston, MA 02128
Robie Ln & Indian Ridge Rd, Atkinson, NH 03811
Newton Cemetery Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA

Mary Caroline “Orrie” Orr (1910 - December 3, 1982) became the director of an early settlement house, Trinity Neighborhood House. The children had a variety of experiences in nature, arts and crafts, music, dancing, reading, and field trips. “Orrie” and her staff inspired leadership skills and volunteer spirit. A room at Trinity House is named in her honor. A pioneering social worker. Caroline Orr directed the Trinity Neighborhood House from 1942 to 1973. She developed educational, athletic, and enrichment programs for children and teens, including Girl and Boy Scout troops and one of the first girls camps in Boston in 1933. An ardent photographer, Orr taught generations of youth to photograph the world around them. She led hikes and outings, inspiring youth who might otherwise never see nature to appreciate it. Her enthusiasm exemplified the spirit of the US settlement house movement, of which Trinity House was one of Boston's early examples.

Orr, a member of the first group of social workers certified through the National Assn. of Social Workers, was a founding member of the Big Sisters Assn. of Boston.

Mary Caroline Orr was born in Melrose, Mass. A graduate of Brookline (Mass.) High School in 1929, she attended Temple University, and in 1949 received her bachelor's degree from Boston University and became a part-time faculty member at BU's Sargent College. She received her master's degree in social work from Simmons.

She became prominent in the Girl Scouts, earning its highest awards, the Golden Eaglet Award (as a scout); a 50-year special service award, and a Thanks Badge, scouting's highest award for. adults. She worked 31 years at Trinity Neighborhood House and Day Nursery, Inc. of East Boston, Mass., starting in 1932 as a director. Orr also operated a girls' inner-city camp program, now known as Trinity House Camp, and located in Atkinson since 1950.

After retiring from Trinity Neighborhood House, she moved to the Atkinson camp where she later became business manager' and was on the board of directors, as well as treasurer of the Trinity Camp Alumni Assn. and editor of the camp newspaper. She retired again in 1976.

She was secretary for the Haverhill Stamp Club, a member of the Lawrence Sullivan Atkinson Garden Club and a former Trustee of Kimball Library in Atkinson. Orr was a member of Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston.

She died, apparently of heart failure, in her home in Atkinson, NH, on December 3, 1982. The Carolyn Orr trails meander through 60 acres of forested wood, located at the end of Robie Lane.

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