by Joe Nathan -- Remember the song – “If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning, I’d hammer in the evening, all over this land...”? How about “Puff the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea...” or “Lemon tree, very pretty, but the lemon flower is sweet...” or “The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, the answer is blowin in the wind.” Some people will draw a blank.

But for many of us growing in the 1960s or ‘70s – there is an immediate answer – “Those are Peter Paul and Mary songs!” And Mary Travers, whose remarkable voice and presence complimented Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey, died last week.

Mary, 72, helped millions of people ask songwriter Bob Dylan’s words, “how many years can some people exist, before they’re allowed to be free? How many times can a man turn his head, Pretending he just doesn’t see?”

She, Peter and Paul used their enormous popularity to help promote racial progress. They sang at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I have a Dream” speech.” They participated in the 1965 March from Selma to Montgomery. Over a 40-year period, they sang throughout this and other countries, promoting respect and tolerance.

A New York Times story last week quoted her as saying, “I was raised to believe that everybody has a responsibility to their community... I use the word very loosely... It’s a big community.”

Travers ‘ obituary topped the list of “most read” stories in The New York Times for a couple of days. It appears that Ms. Travers was a deeply talented, complex woman. Her first three marriages ended in divorce. She was married and living in Connecticut when she died.

Noel Paul Stookey wrote on the group’s Web site that “as a partner...she could be vexing and vulnerable in the same breath. As a friend she shared her concerns freely and without reservation. As an activist, she was brave, outspoken and inspiring - especially in her defense of the defenseless.” Peter Yarrow wrote, in part that she sang “honestly and with complete authenticity.”

On stage, she showed how women could be strong, friendly equals of men.

I had the chance to hear this group twice. They could be very, very funny. They could be eloquent, angry and strident. But at bottom, they promoted progress. Their message was that things could be better, and that each of us can help make that happen.

Travers was very much a mother too. She had two daughters and two grandchildren. Sometimes in concerts she’d recite a poem about one of her daughters, Erika. In part this read...

“Erika with the windy yellow hair
Dancing through the day or moping by the stair
My joy to know my Erika with the windy yellow hair...

Lithesome child, I turn with care
When viewing you on step or stair
All my hope and love for you,
My Erika of the windy yellow hair

For millions of us, it was a joy, and inspiration, to hear Mary Travers. Mary, Mothers and Music

Joe Nathan, a former public school teacher and administrator, directs the Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .