Mary J. Treglia dedicated her life to helping those in need. For over 33 years, she served the immigrant population of Sioux City as director of the nonprofit community house that bears her name.

Born in 1897, Mary Treglia was a devoted friend to Sioux City immigrants and their families. Perhaps this was because she herself was the only daughter of U.S. immigrants. Her parents left Italy in the 1880s and came to Sioux City—but Mary’s father died when she was just 22 months old, leaving her mother to support them by running a small store.

Mary graduated from Central High School, then left to explore the world with her mother for a few years. In 1921, Mary and her mother returned to Sioux City and were invited to the opening of a new Community House, which served as a welcoming place for the city’s many immigrants.

After briefly volunteering for the Community House, Mary was soon hired as  assistant director—and soon after as director. It was a perfect fit for her, as she was sensitive to the needs and traditional values of local immigrants.

Mary intimately understood the poverty, troubles, and problems of immigrants. While she did go on and earn a college degree, her most valuable knowledge didn’t come from books. It came through her daily life. More than 100 years ago, Mary wrote how the immigrants and their U.S.-born children “lived very much to themselves and had little or no contact with any other group.” Many could not speak English. And in that day, many could not read or write. As a result, they had little hope of achieving U.S. citizenship and rising above poverty, prejudice, and isolation. The Community House was created to help. Its mission was to help Sioux City’s struggling foreign-born become U.S. citizens and build better lives in their new homeland. That reflects our mission today.

Mary was often known to say, “The underlying principle of the true neighborhood house is human service.” Human service still drives everything we do. And the need is pressing now, just as it was then.