The Greatest Generation Ladies - May 2010

BY: Jennifer Oleen-Rook

    I call them "The Greatest Generation Ladies". They're ladies I've known all my life. They're the ladies who have standing, weekly appointments with their hairdresser to wash, curl and backcomb and shape their hair into little round helmets. They're the women who not only attended my wedding, but helped out in the kitchen, threw me a shower and made sure I had plenty of dishtowels, embroidered pillowcases and other important heirloom type items to store in my hope chest. They're my Grandmother's friends; her coffee klatch, dancing buddies, and confidantes.
    These same women were also the first ones to hug me and cry with me when my grandmother died and the last to leave after her casket was placed in the ground. These women meant a lot to my grandmother and to each other. They were the women she met through the American Legion Women's Auxiliary and somewhere through all the service projects, parades, dances, raising children and helping veterans, these women became a family, leaning on each other in times of sorrow, drawing strength from one another through trials, rejoicing and enjoying life together. Their love for "God and Country" brought them so much more than just personal gratification. Mildred Betts, a member of Jensen Legion Post 124 for 35 years and current Chaplain of the post, says, "The friendships I've made in my many years with the Legion are treasured. We've just kinda become a little family. We've taken care of each other and spent time together outside of our Legion meetings and just become really close."
    This Greatest Generation Ladies are also the most patriotic people I know. Many joined the Women's Legion Auxiliary more than thirty years ago because they had husbands who were war veterans and were active in the Men's American Legion. Dorothy Evans has logged more than forty years. She says the purpose behind the American Legion Women's Auxiliary is to support the men, help veterans and promote patriotism. They believe in the ideals and principles of the American Legion Auxiliary and in "America's founding fathers. They pledge to foster patriotism, preserve and defend the Constitution, promote allegiance to God and Country, and uphold the basic principles of freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of choice." Evans says, "The patriotism we enjoy and try to foster is essential to our society. And we need to take care of our Veterans when they come back from wars. A lot of them need a lot of help and the legion just steps right in and helps them."
    It is through this service that these women I admire grew so close. During the holidays the women would gather at my Grandmother's home to make goodies for people and organize gifts to send to the Veteran's Administration Gift Shop for Veterans (so hospitalized veterans can have gifts for their families, free of charge), or to give Christmas to a family in need. There was much laughter, gossip, and a whole lot of fun. Auxiliary programs were created to provide assistance, education and financial support for veterans and their families, but the Greatest Generation Ladies made it their life and they enjoyed it. Those ladies had fun wherever they went together.
    Another goal of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary is to be active in the community and help to create a better society, particularly for the nation's citizens of the future. Each year the Ladies Auxiliaries nationwide sponsor several girls to send to Girl's State, a weeklong event for high school juniors to learn about the government and electoral process. The Legion Ladies work hard year round to raise money in order to sponsor the best and brightest applicants and send them to Girl's State. It is one of their crowning glories and proudest accomplishments. This year, Jensen Legion Post 124 will send six Uintah High girls to Girl's State, and Kristie Francisco, a Uintah High senior who was selected last year, will reign over the festivities as Girl's State Governor; a first for Jensen Legion Post 124 and Uintah High. The Greatest Generation Ladies are, no doubt, beaming like proud mothers, and several of the Ladies are smiling down from Heaven at such accomplishments as well.
    I've been a card carrying member of the American Legion since birth just like all the other granddaughters of the Legion Ladies. These ladies enrolled us in the Legion, enlisted our help each year to sell paper poppies (made by veterans to raise money for veterans) and my cousins and I were all groomed to participate in Girl's and Boy's State. Three out of eight of us attended and The Ladies were pleased. They weren't just happy that their brood was selected, they were happy that the younger generation seemed to be interested in becoming good citizens and there was hope that one day they would carry the torch and stay active in the American Legion.
    The American Legion men's organization and the Legion Ladies Auxiliary both need young blood. The Greatest Generation Ladies won't be around forever. It seems they attend more funerals nowadays than they do birthday parties. Last month, Mildred Betts entered the legion hall in Jensen only to discover a terrible smell. So, she began lighting candles to cover the smell. It was soon discovered the noxious odor was emanating from a propane tank. Longtime Legion member Boyd Redden told Mildred she'd gotten lucky that time then quipped, "If we'd have been blown up who would've done the 21 gun salute over our graves?" There is humor in Boyd's comments, but also a truth and a realization that once these people are gone, so are their traditions and a huge part of American culture and life.
    So, it is up to us, The Greatest Generation of Soccer Moms, to carry the torch and get involved in the American Legion. If you are a daughter, granddaughter or wife of a veteran, get in touch with your local chapter today. Mildred Betts and Dorothy Evans are just two of the Greatest Generation Ladies who need us to carry on. They've worked hard to educate the younger generations and make sure we were raised up to become good citizens who take an active part in local politics, respect the flag, show patriotism and pass these ideals on to our posterity.

Notes to Mom - May 2010

10 Reasons Why I Love My Mom

    I will be the first to admit that the relationship between my mother and myself is somewhat on the lacking side.  My mom and I don't really argue, but we don't really talk, either.  Major emotional issues are not discussed with my mother.  My father is definitely not discussed with my mother.  Arguments with her are avoided altogether or quickly retreated from once they begin, because it's just safer that way…
    As much as she frustrates me and as often as she drives me completely up the wall, she is still my mother and I love her a great deal.  And, this is completely and totally dorky, I know, but the following is a list of all the reasons I can currently come up with as to why I love her and am proud of her:
    1.  She always had hot chocolate ready for my sisters and I, growing up, after we'd come inside from playing in the snow…  as a little kid, this was something I adored about my mom, so it makes the list… also, she used to braid my Barbie's hair for me when I couldn't do it.
    2.  At one point, when I was 14 or so, my mom had a friend who was a single mother; she had broken up with her boyfriend and had no place for herself or her 8 year old son to live, nor enough money to pay rent in an apartment, and so my mother asked the woman and her son to live with us.  They ended up staying with us for three or four years.
    3.  When my parents got divorced, my mom went back to work, after being a stay-at-home mom for 13 years, to support my sisters and I.
    4.  My mom went back to college, in her 40s, to get her nursing degree.  She graduated in 2005 with her RN.
    5.  She saved like crazy while I was in high school so that she could take my sisters and I on a vacation to Walt Disney World for a week.
    6.  When Brent died, my mom offered to take work off so she could go with me to the calling hours and funeral; she didn't even know Brent, really.
    7.  Before she started working evenings, my mom never missed any of my sisters' basketball games, soccer tournaments, track meets, or band concerts.  She went to all of our chorus concerts, marching band shows and award ceremonies.  I can count, on one hand probably, the number of times my dad showed up for all these things.
    8.  She made all sorts of sacrifices for the girls and myself; mom rarely bought things for herself.  She never had new clothes, never went out with friends…  I was startled, a few weeks ago, when I learned that she's gone 3 years without getting new glasses, even though her prescription's changed again, because my sisters and I need new glasses every year.
    9.  My mom says what she thinks.  I can honestly tell you that my mom makes her feelings known.  There are plenty of times where I'd much rather not know her opinion on everything, but that's another story…
    10.  She has always been 100%, completely encouraging of me in everything I do.  My mom has always told me that so long as I did my best at everything, that'd be enough for her.  And, for my mother, my best has been enough; regardless of how it measures up in comparison with others.

Oh Mother! - May 2010

    One universal truth that can be stated is that we all have a mother. These moms may be biological, foster, adopted, good, bad, ugly or beautiful and several degrees in-between and we all have one! May is the day that we celebrate our moms and we here at The Edge Magazine are more than willing to join in this celebration. In order to gain a better understanding of this holiday we have compiled a short explanation of the history of the Mother's Day holiday that we celebrate today.

    Celebrating motherhood is a historical tradition dating back almost as far as mothers themselves. A number of ancient cultures paid tribute to mothers as goddesses, including the ancient Greeks, who celebrated Rhea, the mother of all gods. The ancient Romans also honored their mother goddess, Cybele, in a notoriously rowdy springtime celebration and the Celtic Pagans marked the coming of spring with a fertility celebration linking their goddess Brigid together with the first milk of the ewes.

    During the 17th century, those living on the British isles initiated a religious celebration of motherhood, called Mothering Sunday, which was held on the forth Sunday during the Lenten season. This holiday featured the reunification of mothers and their children, separated when working class families had to send off their young children to be employed as house servants. On Mothering Sunday, the child servants were allowed to return home for the day to visit with their parents. The holiday's popularity faded in the 19th century, only to be reincarnated during World War II when U.S. servicemen reintroduced the sentimental (and commercial) aspects of the celebration American counterpart.

    In the United States, Mother's Day experienced a series of false starts before eventually transitioning into the "Hallmark" holiday that we celebrate today. In 1858, Anna Reeves Jarvis was the first woman to hold an official celebration of mothers, when in her home state of West Virginia, she instituted Mothers' Work Day to raise awareness about local sanitation issues. During the Civil War, she expanded the scope of Mothers' Work Day to include sanitary conditions on both sides of the battlefield.

    Meanwhile Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," attempted to institute a national celebration of mothers that honored women's inclinations toward peace (rather than cleanliness). In 1872, she initiated and promoted a Mother's Day for Peace, to be held on June 2, which was celebrated the following year by women in 18 cities across America. The holiday continued to be honored by Bostonian women for another decade, but eventually phased out after Howe stopped underwriting the cost of the celebrations.

    Then in 1905, Anna Reeves Jarvis passed away and her daughter, Anna Jarvis, took up her mother's torch. Anna swore on her mother's gravesite that she would realize her lifelong dream of creating a national day to honor mothers. In 1907, Anna launched her campaign by handing out white carnations to congregants at her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, her mother's church acquiesced to Anna's request to hold a special Sunday service in honor of mothers - a tradition that spread the very next year to churches in 46 states. In 1909, Anna left her job and dedicated herself to a full-time letter-writing campaign, imploring politicians, clergymen and civic leaders to institute a national day for mothers.

    In 1912, Jarvis' efforts met with success: Her home state of West Virginia adopted an official Mother's Day; two years later, the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution, signed by President Wilson, establishing a national Mother's Day emphasizing the role of women in their families - and not, like Julia Ward Howe's campaign, in the public arena. Ever since, Mother's Day has been celebrated by Americans on the second Sunday in May.

    Perhaps the country's greatest proponent of motherhood, Anna Jarvis ironically never had children of her own. Yet that didn't stop her from making the celebration of Mother's Day her lifelong mission. In fact, as the holiday took on a life of its own, Jarvis expressed frequent dismay over its growing commercialization. "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit," she is quoted as saying.

    As we reflect on our own mothers and jobs as mothers this year we here at The Edge Magazine hope that you take a moment to thank your mom for all that she has done for you. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

 
 

MAY IS HERE!!!

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June Photo Contest

APRIL ISSUE

APRIL WAS SO AMAZING!!!!

THANK-YOU TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SUBMITTED THEIR WONDERFUL WORK TO US!! We appreciate all you do to make this magazine SO wonderful!!

Make sure you check out the May issue which will be hitting newsstands in just a few days!!

And a special thanks to Shane Stanley for his great cover shoot!  I just love to see how talented the youth of the Basin are!

FEBRUARY IS HEADED TO THE NEWS STANDS!!!

YEAH!!! THE FEBRUARY ISSUE IS SMOKING HOT AND WILL BE PUT OUT ON THE NEWS STAND TODAY AND TOMORROW!!! HOPE YOU ENJOY AND THANKS TO OUR AMAZING SUBMISSIONS!!!