"Call Me Mary"

She was living through a painful period,"and her silence made it clear that she valued privacy over pleasure. For a month she remained in seclusion. Then, as the six weeks' residency necessary for her divorce neared its end, Mary Todhunter Clark Rockefeller began stepping out a bit. For the first time, Nevadans had a chance to see her--and they liked what little they saw.

In the protective company of Dude Ranch Owner Harry Drackert and his wife, Mrs. Rockefeller turned up at Harrah's Club on Lake Tahoe's South Shore, at Squaw Valley and in Eugene's, one of Reno's top restaurants. She is rarely recognized; at Harrah's she spent 30 minutes with the one-armed bandits before anyone took notice of her.

Down Home. When she arrived in Nevada, Drackert pronounced her "tired and upset," and slammed shut the doors to his ranch, even to new paying guests. Mrs. Rockefeller left the grounds only for horseback rides, long, solitary hikes, and daily walks to the Verdi post office a mile away. The few Nevadans who did meet her were impressed by her easy manner. "Call me Mary," she said, hinting that she dislikes being called "Mrs. Rockefeller" or, worse, "Mrs. R."

She still works hard to avoid any attention. When a friend mentioned that local reporters often asked what sort of a person she is, Mary said: "Just tell them I'm a homely old lady." Her new acquaintances are so protective of her privacy that they go out of their way to scold inquiring reporters, and most of Reno's press has lost its taste for asking questions about her.

Her one daily ritual is the ride, and Nevada friends say that she is a "fantastic" horseback rider despite her English saddle. She is also "trail boss." "If it's snowing and she wants to ride, you ride," a friend says. She resents help with her mount, and when the ride is over each day, she rubs down her own horse.

Family Style. With studied informality, the Donner Trail Ranch manages to be both the fanciest and the folksiest in the Reno area. The friends and relatives who have taken turns keeping Mary company join her for dinner served family style, with everyone seated around a big table to eat hearty, ranch-hand's food. All is clapboard-clean and comfortable, and the easy, friendly pace has had its benign effect on Mary. Friends say that she looks wonderful.

The six-week stay will end this Thursday. Mary Rockefeller will then be eligible for her divorce in any Nevada court; her lawyer refuses to say when or where it will be. If all goes according to the well-rehearsed schedule of Nevada divorces, her marriage of 31 years will be ended with simple answers to half a dozen questions. It shouldn't take ten minutes.

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