May Honors Mother's Day Centennial
From the First Lady’s Desk
A Monthly Message by First Lady Gayle C. Manchin
Charleston, WV (HNN) -- April showers, and even a few snow “fluffies,” have indeed brought May flowers. Even the mountains are almost completely now covered in the spring green that makes us “catch our breath.” With these early warm sunny days, we have all been tempted to plant our flower beds; however, beware, that the “rule of the green thumb” is no planting before Mother’s Day.
This momentous year, 2008, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day, which was begun by a young woman, Anna Jarvis, who was inspired by her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, to campaign for a day commemorating all mothers. In an era when women were not even allowed to vote, Ann Reeves Jarvis served as assistant superintendent in the primary department of the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church School. Moreover, she was a passionate advocate for public health, organizing Mother’s Day Work Clubs to combat the high infant mortality rate caused by poor sanitary conditions in neighboring areas.
Ann Reeves Jarvis died in 1905. In 1908, at the request of her daughter, Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton held the first official Mother’s Day service. In 1912, West Virginia was the first state to adopt an official Mother’s Day, and the whole country followed our example in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson officially established the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
The members of the International Mother’s Day Shrine and the Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum have labored through the years to preserve these unique West Virginia heirlooms - these historic American treasures: the Anna Jarvis home in Webster, W.Va., and in Grafton, the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, now known as the International Mother’s Day Shrine.&nbs p; If you have not had the opportunity, this may be the year to visit where it all began a century ago.
West Virginia has been home to many famous women. Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks, was born in Mineral County, Virginia (now West Virginia). The state’s roll call of celebrated women includes author and humanitarian Pearl S. Buck, Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton and songwriter/singer Kathy Mattea. Other women, known as “famous West Virginians,” include labor activist Mother Jones in the early 20th century, and today actress Jennifer Garner who is now a mother also.
Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a career mom, a young first-time mother or many-times-blessed grandmother, foster mom, adoptive mom, the truth is all mothers are working mothers. That work may not always be paid, but it always deserves to be respected. All mothers deserve to be honored, not just on Mother’s Day, but EVERY day!
Ann Reeves Jarvis had a mother’s heart that embraced not only her children, but her entire community. Her active compassion inspired her daughter, whose dedication and determination gave us Mother’s Day. As we celebrate the centennial anniversary of Mother's Day this year, let us honor the women in our lives who have guided us, and reflect on the example that we ourselves are setting for our own sons and daughters.