Mary Wiggins
Treasury Department
Financial Computer Analyst
Still a fashion icon in her mid-nineties, Mary Wiggins remembers growing up in a wealthy Black family in a small town in North Carolina. Her father, a well-respected, adventurous, innovative thinker, an entrepreneur, and self-sufficient Black man, opened a small broom manufacturing business on the land, and raised his growing family with all of the comforts of the early 1920s. Mary recalled,
“He made very good money and become very good at selling brooms until the Depression. On Fridays and Saturdays, he would sell brooms in adjacent counties. Matthew sold the factory and became the manager of the factory.”
Mary and her siblings attended a private Methodist school in North Carolina where the teachers were predominately White. She recalled, “I had no knowledge of segregation. At that time Blacks and Whites worked together. The music teacher and my third-grade teacher were Black.” The family’s migration to Washington, D.C. proved to be a watershed period for Mary. Her limited experience with segregation did not prepare her for her induction into the federal civil service system.
Mary Wiggins recalled her first days on the job in the Treasury Department. Opening, reading, and responding to complaint letters fell under her job duties. Mary Wiggins credits the excellent education she received at the Methodist schools in South Carolina for her being able to read and respond to complaint letters. Attention to small details such as counting money, balancing spreadsheets, and accounting for large sums of money, consumed Mary ’s days as a Government Girl. She explained her primary duties by recalling,
“The Federal Reserve Bank had to buy the money from the Treasury Department. From there, the money was distributed to other branches. I was not bonded. So, I wanted the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit me every three months. That kept me in a job. I never made a mistake. Brinks would pick up the money. If the money was not ready, I had to walk to L'Enfant Plaza with a shopping bag full of money.”
Mary Wiggins standing in front of a government office building in Washington, DC
Mary Wiggins at Christmas
Mary Wiggins’ aptitude for math was noticed by her supervisors and they often chose her to work on special Treasury Department projects. One project entailed creating dollar bills with raised imprints (Braille). Although she worked on special projects, Mary Wiggins experienced roadblocks in her attempts to advance through civil service ranks. Mary Wiggins recalled incidents of blatant racism in the Treasury Department.
The transition of processing payroll by hand to teaching a new generation to adapt to a digital platform fell under the watchful eyes of Mary Wiggins. Mary’s knowledge of the Treasury Department cast her in a new role in her later years of government service:
“I was a financial computer analyst. That was my final job. When computers first came out, all the information came to the office. Everything came out on a card. The information was punched into the card. I ended up training people to do that job. The Treasury Department sent [us to] school… to learn how to do card punching and how to use the new machines. At that time, the computers had to be wired so it could read the card. We had to know how to wire the machine. I learned a lot from the man who came to fix the machine. I paid close attention to how he fixed the machine. I taught the payroll area how to convert to computers. If I did not balance my tickets, 5000 people would not get paid. I handled millions and millions of dollars.”
Mary Wiggins worked for the United States Federal government for 33 years. After retirement, Mary remained an active church member by serving in the hospitality ministry and working on other church boards.
Mary Wiggins (far right) poses with other Government Girls
Mary Wiggins at at holiday event.
Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins
Mary Wiggins cradles the next generation in the palms of her hands.
Mary Wiggins in retirement.