Mary Holman graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelors degree in mathematics. In 1933, she looked around the Bay Area for any job that had a relationship to math, but there were no such jobs for women (the jobs were occupied by men). Ms. Holman finally gave up her search and earned a teaching credential. She taught high school in Tulare and Pleasonton.

In 1941, Mary went home to Bakersfield to visit her parents for the summer. She had already signed a contract to teach in Pleasonton the following year. One day she read an article in the Bakersfield Californian saying the city council had voted to hire a woman for the Bakersfield Police Department (it seems the League of Women Voters had lobbied quite vocally for such a position). The qualifications for a woman were quite different from the expectations of male recruits, although the entry-level pay was equal. The candidates were expected to have a college degree and a year of experience working with juveniles. 19 applicants were considered for the pioneering position. Mary scored 100% on the entrance test and was ranked number 1. She was hired on July 3, 1941.

According to Mary, the chief didn’t know exactly what to do with her. She was instructed to learn how to be an officer first, and they would figure out the rest as they went along. She began working with juvenile crimes and crimes related to women.

At this time, there was nothing written in any library concerning the interrogation of children by police officers. Ms. Dodge wrote guidelines for handling juveniles for use by the Bakersfield Police Department's training schools. Chief Horace Grayson sent the guidelines to the Charles C. Thomas Publishing Company. Mary was told to "fatten up" her notes and a book would be published at no cost to her. So, in 1962, "The Police Officer and the Child" was published, complete with photographs of local officers and their children. It was adopted by the BPD and many other police departments around the state. (A copy is still available today at the Beale Memorial Library in Bakersfield). Her belief in writing this book is that "it's necessary to understand how to speak with a child...they should be treated with dignity and respect."

In 1953, Mary Holman was promoted to lieutenant and took badge number 13 for good luck. She was the first woman to achieve the rank of lieutenant in California. She then became the head of the department’s Juvenile Division, blazing yet another trail with the courage and dignity that became the hallmark for the women who followed her into law enforcement.

At the age of 50, the widowed Charlie Dodge started "courting" Mary. After a short month-long courtship, he encouraged Mary to give marriage a try. She found her life partner in Charlie Dodge, the Assistant Police Chief. Police car radios got a call that "Badge 7 and Roberta 8 are 10-6 at Wickersham’s" and the news was out that Charlie and Mary were buying a ring. They were married May 11, 1963.