Today is another milestone for my family: my Mother was born 100 years ago, on 17 February 1917.
The youngest of three children, she was the family historian of her generation. (It was common knowledge that, during any phone call, she had a pen and note pad there to record any significant information.) She passed those genes on to a few of her children and grandchildren, as well.
She was a year old when the Spanish Flu epidemic hit. Somehow she did not get sick, even though everyone else in the family became ill.
When she was six, her house was struck by lightning and burned down. Neighbors came to help fight the fire, and then came back to help re-build.
She lived through the Depression and two World Wars.
Mother was an accomplished seamstress. She made everything from play clothes (from cotton feed sacks) to tailored suits. She made prom dresses and costumes. She made countless dolls (body, clothes and shoes) – Holly Hobby, Raggedy Ann and Andy, and nurse dolls – and teddy bears. She even made draperies professionally for a few years.
Mother attended the Methodist Church in Mt Pleasant (near Frederick, Maryland) from the time she was 13 or 14 until about 2 years before she died at the age of 97. She was the Sunday School Secretary for over 75 years and Charge Treasurer for 30 years.
When we left the farm, she began working for J C Penney Co in the fabric department. After she retired, Mother volunteered in the gift shop at Frederick Memorial Hospital, accumulating over 3000 hours. She also worked at the polls on election days for many years.
Mother held on to her independence as long as possible. She lived in her home until she was almost 93. Even after she moved to the assisted living facility, she attended church as much as possible for as long as she could. She volunteered in the facility’s gift shop. She crocheted an afghan for her great-grandson, though the process took much longer than it had in years past.
Mother raised seven children over a period of almost forty years. We may not have had everything, but she made sure we had everything we needed.
She has been gone for almost three years and I still miss her.
Happy Birthday, Mother! I love you!!
Sandi
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