Yep, that is right; I am three-quarters of a century old, 75 years old. Changing worlds I have seen and watched. Things have happened my great grandmother described have been surpassed many times over, but I am not sure she would be overjoyed at some of the things that have happened. I grew up with her telling me stories of when she was growing up in Illinois before the Civil War, describing how it was watching Lincoln's funeral train returning to Springfield on a rainy day, and all the black umbrellas were up as people stood there silently. I marveled at her stories of 'riding astride a horse, wearing her older brother's pants', since her long skirt was in the way. She told stories of riding in large steamers going to Cuba. My mother said Granny Kate was a 'storyteller', and was making much up. Turns out Granny Kate went with Clara Barton into Cuba during the Spanish American War, helped set up hospitals, and then helped set up an orphanage in Matanzas Province. A census report tells of her being a 'carnival promoter'; well, she was, kind of. Seems she went into countries around the world setting up trade expositions to introduce countries, including South Africa, to US manufactured goods. She sent two sons into World War I; both returned and their stories of war were not romanticized. She did many other things, but most of all I remember her talking about electricity and how it changed things. She loved to travel and when airplanes came along, she was right there and flew! She saw countries come together and then fall apart. She loved the radio, and she really loved TV and she owned one as soon as she could get a station in Illinois. She watched this country enter the Atomic Age, and I can remember her saying that she had lived through 4 wars and that was quite enough for anyone, and that war should be ended. She talked about getting the right to vote, and vote she did. But what I remember most of all is that she taught me some life long things: women can do what they want, war is bad, people all over the world are good. She watched developments in medicine that saved her daughter as insulin was developed, she saw vaccines come along that kept children alive, and she talked about things to come for my world. She was always optimistic about the future for me, for my children and my grandchildren.
Read More
