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Trooper gets radio logs for defense
8/27/2008 9:18 PM -
S.C. Rep. says U.S. needs diplomacy
8/27/2008 9:13 PM -
Woman shoots self while in hospital
8/27/2008 9:08 PM -
Judge to allow cameras for murder sentencing
8/27/2008 9:03 PM -
Public defender to handle fraud appeal
8/27/2008 9:03 PM -
$30M tourist attractions planned for S.C. Upstate
8/27/2008 8:12 PM -
ACLU asks for independent prisons audit
8/26/2008 9:29 PM -
Tornado touches down in Clemson
8/26/2008 9:29 PM -
Charleston Rotary to host candidate
8/26/2008 9:29 PM -
State news in brief for Aug. 26
8/25/2008 9:30 PM
Local
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Chase video scheduled to be released
8/27/2008 8:57 PM
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Area leaders examine the State of the County
8/27/2008 9:28 PM
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Mounted Patrol plays important role in city
8/27/2008 8:57 PM
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Cub Scouting adventures begin tonight with sign-ups at Weeks Activities Center
8/27/2008 8:57 PM
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Threat of severe weather from tropical depression passes
8/27/2008 8:57 PM
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Third-party candidate Baldwin campaigns in Aiken
8/27/2008 7:41 PM
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Ryberg: Intent of law was violated
8/27/2008 7:41 PM
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Embers bring beach music Friday
8/27/2008 7:41 PM
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Concert will support scholarships, bring relief to USC Aiken students
8/27/2008 7:41 PM
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Scouts looking for new members
8/27/2008 8:30 AM
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Troopers reach out past state borders
8/26/2008 9:07 PM
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City man charged with gun violations
8/26/2008 9:07 PM
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Bridgestone celebrates first decade
8/26/2008 9:12 PM
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South Aiken, Aiken seniors exceed national SAT averages
8/26/2008 9:13 PM
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Schools roll out red carpet awards
8/26/2008 9:13 PM
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Irish gospel star Robin Mark to perform free concert here
8/26/2008 9:18 PM
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ACP sets auditions
8/26/2008 9:18 PM
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Reunions for Aug. 27
8/26/2008 9:18 PM
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Police watch for vandalism as rivals' game approaches
8/26/2008 9:02 PM
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Two weeks after his acquittal, man again arrested
8/26/2008 9:02 PM
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County considers shelter expansion
8/26/2008 9:02 PM
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Loaned executives help bring professional clout to United Way
8/25/2008 8:46 PM
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Local news in brief for Aug. 26
8/25/2008 8:46 PM
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Officer cleared after fatal pursuit
8/25/2008 8:33 PM
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Vote on GVW today
8/25/2008 8:33 PM
Mother's Day celebration reaches 100th anniversary
5/11/2008 12:15 AM
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Associated Press
GRAFTON, W.Va. -- On this 100th anniversary of Mothers Day, the woman credited with creating one of the worlds most celebrated holidays probably wouldnt be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts.
Anna Jarvis would want us to give mothers a white carnation -- she felt it signified the purity of a mothers love.
Jarvis, who never married and never had children, got the Mothers Day idea after her mother said it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers.
Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official mothers day service at a church where her mother had spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday school.
Today, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is the official shrine to mothers around the world. On Sunday, the shrine will celebrate the 100th anniversary, giving each mother attending a special service a white carnation.
The shrine also serves as a "reminder to the accomplishments of these women and to the issues mothers still deal with today, trying to do the balancing act of being everything to everyone," said Cindi Mason, the shrines director.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 83 million mothers in the United States. More mothers now work out of the home and the number of single-mother households has tripled to more than 10 million since 1970.
What has allowed Mothers Day to become celebrated on the second Sunday in May in 52 countries is "everyone has a mother," said Sally Thayer, a trustee of the International Mothers Day Shrine in Grafton. "Its a wonderful thing to celebrate."
Jarvis devotion to and her fierce defense of Mothers Day could be tied to the feeling that "a certain era was passing and mothers like her mother were becoming fewer," said Laura Prieto, an associate professor of history and womens studies at Simmons College in Boston.
By all accounts, Jarvis mother Ann was a community activist who worked to heal the divisions in north-central West Virginia following the Civil War, and to promote improved sanitation by creating Mothers Friendship Clubs.
"I would love to be like Mrs. Jarvis," said Olive Dadisman, who operates the Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum in nearby Webster. "She was a soft-spoken, gentle woman, but she could convince the devil to give up his pitch fork."
West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mothers Day in 1910. President Woodrow Wilson approved a resolution in 1914 marking the second Sunday in May a nationwide observance.
"Mothers Day was meant to be -- and still is -- a celebration of a nineteenth-century ideal of motherhood, when mothers were supposed to dedicate themselves completely to nurturing their children and making a cozy, safe home," Prieto said.
Yet, Jarvis became increasingly disturbed as the celebration turned into an excuse to sell greeting cards, candy, flowers and other items.
Jarvis became known for scathing letters in which she would berate people who purchased greeting cards, saying they were too lazy to write personal letters "to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world."
Before she died in 1948, she protested at a Mothers Day celebration in New York, and was arrested for disturbing the peace.
The National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will spend $15 billion this year honoring their mothers. Dining out is expected to be the No. 1 expense.
In the end, Mason said Jarvis was bitter about what the observance had become and "wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control ..."
"But when you look at Mothers Day as being her baby of sorts, you can understand her protectiveness of it."
------
On the Net:
International Mothers Day Shrine: www.mothersdayshrine.com
Anna Jarvis Museum: www.annajarvishouse.com
5/11/2008 12:15 AM
0 comment(s) on this story E-mail this story to a friendAssociated Press
GRAFTON, W.Va. -- On this 100th anniversary of Mothers Day, the woman credited with creating one of the worlds most celebrated holidays probably wouldnt be pleased with all the flowers, candy or gifts.
Anna Jarvis would want us to give mothers a white carnation -- she felt it signified the purity of a mothers love.
Jarvis, who never married and never had children, got the Mothers Day idea after her mother said it would be nice if someone created a memorial to mothers.
Three years after her mother died in 1905, she organized the first official mothers day service at a church where her mother had spent more than 20 years teaching Sunday school.
Today, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church is the official shrine to mothers around the world. On Sunday, the shrine will celebrate the 100th anniversary, giving each mother attending a special service a white carnation.
The shrine also serves as a "reminder to the accomplishments of these women and to the issues mothers still deal with today, trying to do the balancing act of being everything to everyone," said Cindi Mason, the shrines director.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 83 million mothers in the United States. More mothers now work out of the home and the number of single-mother households has tripled to more than 10 million since 1970.
What has allowed Mothers Day to become celebrated on the second Sunday in May in 52 countries is "everyone has a mother," said Sally Thayer, a trustee of the International Mothers Day Shrine in Grafton. "Its a wonderful thing to celebrate."
Jarvis devotion to and her fierce defense of Mothers Day could be tied to the feeling that "a certain era was passing and mothers like her mother were becoming fewer," said Laura Prieto, an associate professor of history and womens studies at Simmons College in Boston.
By all accounts, Jarvis mother Ann was a community activist who worked to heal the divisions in north-central West Virginia following the Civil War, and to promote improved sanitation by creating Mothers Friendship Clubs.
"I would love to be like Mrs. Jarvis," said Olive Dadisman, who operates the Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum in nearby Webster. "She was a soft-spoken, gentle woman, but she could convince the devil to give up his pitch fork."
West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mothers Day in 1910. President Woodrow Wilson approved a resolution in 1914 marking the second Sunday in May a nationwide observance.
"Mothers Day was meant to be -- and still is -- a celebration of a nineteenth-century ideal of motherhood, when mothers were supposed to dedicate themselves completely to nurturing their children and making a cozy, safe home," Prieto said.
Yet, Jarvis became increasingly disturbed as the celebration turned into an excuse to sell greeting cards, candy, flowers and other items.
Jarvis became known for scathing letters in which she would berate people who purchased greeting cards, saying they were too lazy to write personal letters "to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world."
Before she died in 1948, she protested at a Mothers Day celebration in New York, and was arrested for disturbing the peace.
The National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will spend $15 billion this year honoring their mothers. Dining out is expected to be the No. 1 expense.
In the end, Mason said Jarvis was bitter about what the observance had become and "wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control ..."
"But when you look at Mothers Day as being her baby of sorts, you can understand her protectiveness of it."
------
On the Net:
International Mothers Day Shrine: www.mothersdayshrine.com
Anna Jarvis Museum: www.annajarvishouse.com
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Obituaries
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Cloyd Cartledge Sr.
8/27/2008 8:12 PM
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Hazel B. Lilly
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Dorathy Lillian Gieselman
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Paul Foster
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Albert J. Cave
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Robert L. Taylor
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Bradford Page
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Marian A. Overstreet
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Paul Foster
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Births
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