In celebration of Mothers Day 2008, I thought that it would be appropriate to devote today's column to our Foremothers and their descendants. They were, after all, the ones who brought our Forefathers into the world so the Forefathers, in turn, could bring "forth a new nation," as Abraham Lincoln eloquently reminded us in his address at Gettysburg.
I'd love to tell you this was my original idea. But I must give total credit to the ladies of the Daughters of the American Colonists.
I noticed in the Neighbors of Union County that the DAC (as they call themselves) was dedicating a memorial to the Colonial women of Union County at the Museum of the Waxhaws on May 3. I decided to stop by. This turns out to have been one of my better recent ideas.
I was greeted at the door by Gladys Kerr, who made me feel instantly welcome.
Gladys is a person for whom the phrase "lovely and gracious" was coined. After introducing me to several of the organization's officers, she and Telia Cunningham from Quitman, Ga., sat with me on the porch of the museum and gave me some background about their organization.
"We are known as the friendly organization," said Telia. I learned from my tutors that a condition of membership is that a prospective member must be able to trace her ancestry to a person who lived in one of the original 13 colonies prior to 1776.
The ladies then took the time to explain what their organization was about. I wrote furiously while trying to maintain eye contact, which doesn't always work for me. So I'm going to cheat a bit and borrow from the DAC Web site. (www.nsdac.org)
"What is a Daughter of the American Colonists? She is a person who, first of all, shares the devotion to her country and the principles upon which it was founded, that inspired her ancestors. She is a person who believes that the gifts of the past, both spiritual and material, should be preserved, and who has deep concerns for the welfare of the nation's government and its people."
As the morning continued, the devotion of the members to those principles became increasingly evident. The ceremony to dedicate the memorial was simple, reverent and moving. There was an invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a recitation of "The American's Creed." I found it totally gratifying to hear love of God, country and flag affirmed in such a positive, unassuming way.
The main event, of course, was the presentation of two plaques memorializing the lives of women who lived here in the Colonial period. The plaques join a dramatic painting by DAC member Barbara Funderburk titled "Colonial Patriot with Flag."
The "Patriot" in this case happens to be a woman of the period. Together they form a memorial honoring Colonial Women of Union County.
Stewart Howie Gordon, Regent of the Waxhaws Chapter of the DAC, offered some wonderful remarks as part of her exposition on the history of the project.
I credit her with the "comment of the day" when she related that her aunt Mary Wylie Stewart had been the family historian, and that "she knew more people below ground than she did above."
Jane Howie Thomas read an original poem that detailed many of the aspects of life for the Colonial women -- the trek down the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania in 1765, clearing the land, helping each other, surviving disease, childbirth, the rigors of everyday life and the War of Independence.
Jane's delivery of the poem was delightful, and the wry smile she wore while reading the piece belied the huge grin that you knew was just waiting to come out.
Her rhyme schemes were imaginative, particularly when she catalogued in verse the names of the women who were on the plaque. Here's a sample:
"Mrs. McCollum, Mrs. Leslie and cute Mrs. Crall,
Could have chatted with Mrs. Walkup in a Southern drawl."
What came home to me is that in Waxhaw, we have a history to honor.
I felt privileged to see a group come together to celebrate that history and to remember the strong, courageous women who helped bring our nation into being through their conduct of daily life.
Being a mother is a challenging job in any era. There is no need to decide whether raising children in the age of Internet predators is harder or easier than raising them in a time of smallpox.
Today is the day when we thank all moms: mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and in Waxhaw, our Foremothers. OUR TOWNS
Drop me a line
If you have something to share about Waxhaw, e-mail: John Anderson at: janderson @charlotteobserver.com.
I welcome photos (make sure everyone is clearly identified left to right). Mail to 132 S. Main St., Monroe, NC 28112 or e-mail them as a JPEG file. Be sure to include a daytime phone number. John A. Anderson
