By:Nicole Falco
Though she lost her election bid (she ran alongside Bill Freda and the two lost to incumbents Joanne Antun and Guido Cirenza), Salg took pride in her role as a community watchdog. Her candidacy last year marked the second time Salg ran for trustee. She also sought election in 1996. At that time she ran against incumbents Richard Coffman and Joe Zabatta.
"My role as an activist is very satisfying and got me involved in local government and how they handle things," Salg told the Herald during her campaign last year. "Public participation is very important. I work very hard to give back to the community I have lived in for 49 years."
Salg might best be remembered in the village for her opposition to the expansion of King Kullen. Together with a handful of others, Salg founded the concerned citizens of Valley Stream in the mid-1990s. The group initiated litigation to halt the expansion of King Kullen. They fought for eight years, but ultimately the expanded King Kullen Shopping Center opened last year. Salg also fought for improved drainage on the street where she lived in the backyard of the shopping center. Included in the final plans for the project was a revamped drainage system.
"We fought for eight years and eventually lost two court cases, but they remember our name," Salg told the Herald.
Freda, Salg's running mate, described his friend as "determined and unwilling to take no for an answer."
"You need people like that in the village," Freda said. "Just to let the politically empowered in the village know that they can't just do whatever they want. I respect her for that."
Tom O'Neil, a longtime friend, called Salg a "voice in the dark."
"She didn't just complain," O'Neil said. "She had a reason to complain."
O'Neil also remembered Salg's devotion to her husband, Martin, who preceded her in death earlier this year. "She took good care of him," O'Neil said. "She was more concerned about him than she was about herself."
Long before he knew her as Mary Salg the community activist, Vincent Ang, village clerk knew her as his friends' mother. Ang grew up playing ball with Salg's sons. He remembers a "great lady" who was "full of life."
"As far as the village was concerned, she didn't like the project that was constructed across the street from her and that was her right," Ang said. "But when she was done yelling she'd always say, 'How's your mom? How's she doing?' and we'd talk about Marty [her husband]."
Salg is survived by three sons, a daughter, and numerous grandchildren.
