The White Shirt

Mama, standing on the edge of the Myrtle Court Fountain
Columbia, SC - 1945


Mother's Day, 2020, as we move towards learning a new way to live  in our world.   COVID19 has shaken up our day to day activities, from our attending school, going to work and in general socializing.  Not sure what the new normal will look like, but I do know that my Mother would have fit right in, and in fact probably would smile and say:  "Yes I told you to wash your hands, keep your hands off your face and cover your mouth with tissue when you sneeze".

Growing up in a neighborhood filled with relatives, from aunts and uncles and cousins, and on a street that seemed to run in between all of them, we were often raised and watched over.  In my mother's later years, she lived in the house that I grew up in, and spent her last days there.  She would mow her grass, enjoy the rock pond she had built on the side yard, and lead an independent life into her 80's.  Then one day all that changed, and she needed care, and believe me an independent woman does not take to "Care" by others!

I'd rather remember her as the young woman leaning and standing on the fountain edge, and the mother that when I would leave would come out to the front porch, in her standard white shirt and black pants, and lean against the tall iron railing and wave goodbye.

Blenheim, SC  - Hartsville, SC - Columbia, SC

Mama was born in 1926, right before the Depression.  She was the "middle child" from Mamie and William Bruce.  Mr. William was the school superintendent and Ms.Mamie was one of the teachers.   According to the family Bible, she was young (26) when she married this "older"man, and promptly had 5 children. Can you imagine the talk back then?

The Bruce family of 7, lived through the Depression, with quite possibly more money than others as Mr. William did have a job, and Ms Mamie took in nursing.  All the kids did some form of work, from in the tobacco barns to handing the sale of the local newspaper.  In the midst of the Depression, Mr. William died in a Model-T crash, leaving Ms. Mamie with the 5 children.  The older son, Francis, a teen at the time, stepped up, as did the oldest daughter, Sarah, and the Mother, Ms. Mamie gathered up her faith and carried on.

So where did my Mother fit in all of this.  The family moved to Columbia, SC right at the beginning of World War II, and Mama went to work at Tapps Department Store, and selling War Bonds, as the United States entered into the war and needed the funds.  There are photos of her hair all wrapped up in the style of the 1940's and ah yes, red lips.  Mama loved red lipstick. She had platform shoes, and while in her 80's she opted for a simpler look, back then, she might have had only one dress, but it was colorful, and her shoes just perfect.  This was in the 1940's and then the war ended. She married my Dad, and over the years, had 4 children.  I was the oldest. Back to Mama.

She oftened  reminisced about her memories of the Depression, and enjoying a simpler Christmas gifting, such as oranges as gifts, and a bowl of pecans.  Her Mother, Grandmother Mamie was always mentioned as being there for them.

She was not frugal as one might have expected  from her childhood experience, and did provide us with special surprises often, using funds from her retail sales job she held for 30 years at the Five Points Dress Shop.  Even in retirement, she worked and volunteered often.  She continued to nurture my younger brothers until she had to have care herself.  Not sure I liked that as much as I should have, but she was the consummate Mother of us, and continued to always be there for each of us in her own way.

For my Mother's Mother:  Grandmother Mamie,  a strong woman,  showing how faith in God can make a difference throughout the Depression, World War II and in later life.  A wonderful traveler, often taking her granddaughter to hear Rev. Billy Graham preach and explain faith and made the best pancakes ever.


Happy Mother's Day - Mama and Grandmother.
There is not a day that I don't think of you each, and the both - as strong women to love, admire and miss!