In 1970, Martha Layne Collins was living a life not unlike that of many American women. She was a homemaker, a mother, a teacher. Living in Versailles, Ky., with her dentist husband and two children, there was plenty for her to do within the corporate confines of that town. But her interests extended beyond those boundaries, and they soon were to carry her to a prominence that few would have expected of the small town Kentucky girl who in her youth was a cheerleader, 4-H club member and beauty queen. In a period of 13 years, she went from homemaker-mother-teacher to the No. 1 office in the state of Kentucky, becoming in 1983 only the third woman in the nation's history to achieve such an office without succeeding a husband. And when she took office in January 1984, she was the only woman governor in the country. Collins had first become involved in politics at the grass-roots level in 1971 as a campaign worker for Wendell H. Ford, who won the Kentucky governor's chair that year. Prior to that, her involvement in elections had been of another nature _ she won several beauty contests while a student at the University of Kentucky. Among her title was Queen of the Kentucky Derby Festival. But her training was in education, and after completing college she began teaching mathematics and home economics at a Louisville high school, then continued teaching in Versailles after her marriage. However, her tireless efforts on behalf of Gov. Ford sent her career in another direction. She worked for Walter Huddleston in his 1972 campaign for the U.S. Senate, and from 1972 to 1976 was Democratic national committeewoman from Kentucky. By the mid-1970s, Martha Collins was ready to jump into politics with both feet, and in 1975 she announced her candidacy for clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and was elected. In 1979 she was on the ballot as candidate for lieutenant governor and won by a 200,000-vote margin. In the midst of her four-year term she became the first woman ever to chair the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors. And in 1983, when she mounted her campaign for governor, Collins had established a reputation throughout Kentucky as a no-nonsense and efficient public servant. She had strong opposition, first in the Democratic primary, which she won by a narrow margin over two male opponents, and in the general election, in which she ran against former big-league pitcher Jim Bunning. Her November victory was by a more comfortable margin, however, with 55 percent of the vote. She immediately launched a drive to improve the quality of education in Kentucky, and won approval of some significant reforms. Her rising political star did not go unnoticed nationally, and in 1984 Collins was chosen chairwoman of the Democratic National Convention. That job called on her to use her considerable skills to convince delegations to move toward consensus and to avoid fractional strife, and she was ultimately successful. Kentucky law bars a governor from seeking re-election to a second consecutive four-year term, meaning that Collins had no choice but to leave the governor's office in 1988. "I've been kind of quiet on the state scene since then because I thought I should allow the next governor to have his own game plan and implement it without me second-guessing and commenting on every move," she said. But she has had no trouble finding places for her time. "I'm on the Eastman Kodak board," she said, "and the R.R. Donnelly board and the Bank of Louisville board. And I make a lot of speeches across the United States. I was on the road five out of six days at first. Now I probably average four or five out-of-state speeches a month." She also devoted some time to teaching after leaving office. "I taught two semesters at the University of Louisville as executive in residence in the School of Business, talking about international trade, competition, management styles, etc. And then I was a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Mass., for a semester." She also has taken on some administrative duties in the field of education, serving as president of a small junior college in Springfield, Ky. _ St. Catharine's. "It was founded by the Dominican Sisters," she said, "and I'm the college's first non-Catholic and first lay president." She said that when she was contacted about that position she explained that she had many other commitments, but the college indicated a willingness to share her. The campus is about an hour away from Lexington, where she makes her home and has her office, and she is not at the college every day. Education is a field in which Collins puts many of her priorities, and it is accomplishments in that area of which she is most proud when she looks back on her term as governor. "Prior governors also had stressed education," she said, "while others focused on economic development, but I put the two together and showed that they were very closely connected." Kentucky recently launched a big educational reform package that is an outgrowth of her leadership, she said, including a $1.2-billion tax increase. "We're on the cutting edge of education and a lot of states are watching us," she said. Collins' husband no longer practices dentistry, nor does he have any specific political involvement, preferring instead to devote his time to various business pursuits. But their son, Steve, is following in his mother's footsteps, and this year is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Kentucky. "Steve traveled with me for 20 years and came up through the party ranks," she said. "He's experienced it all at first hand, and has witnessed and lived the sacrifices." He attended Georgetown University, where he majored in political science, and then earned his law degree at the University of Kentucky. His wife is a teacher and they have a 2-year-old son. The Collinses' daughter, Marla, also has a hand in the family pursuits. "She runs my office," Collins said. Although Martha Layne Collins, at 51, now is devoting her campaigning to her son's candidacy, she acknowledges that she may be out seeking votes on her own one of these days. "I like politics," she said, "I like being involved; I liked being governor. And there may be other races in the future, maybe for the Senate or Congress, or I might run for governor again." Meanwhile, she says she is still looking for ways to help Kentucky and its people. And while doing that, she'll continue doing a lot of charitable work as she remains alert to whatever options appear. "I have this philosophy," she said. "If you do a good job, the future takes care of itself."