Genealogy, Catholicism, & Managing Women...

Mary Alice (Truitt) Blacketer

Drumroll, please...here is my Gran. If you've been reading my past stories then you know who I'm talking about. [If not, after this post read: "My Gran's Southern Hash," if you like...] She was such a sweet little lady [unless you got on her bad side, which I didn't because I was her favorite :)]. I don't have a whole lot of photographs of her, but I managed to find some "Mom" pics with all her kids over the years. One of the pictures [a copy actually] I stumbled upon when I found her passport application [way cool]. In it she's holding her infant daughter my Aunt Happy [a name worthy of another story], and an unidentified other woman, who, if I had to guess, is probably my Gran's sister, my Aunt Anne, but I don't know for sure. My Gran and her mother, my Boo [yes, there's a story behind that name, too] raised Gran's eight children together during World War II. My Gran worked several jobs outside of the home, and my Boo took care of things on the homefront. Like so many other mom's, they worked hard to "make it happen."

From Ireland to a Deck in Texas

My Gran's Gran, Annie O'Brien, who came to America [thru New Orleans, LA] from Dublin, Ireland was Catholic. [Shocker, right?] I was baptized a Catholic and remained one for only the first 3 years of my life. My dad didn't really like the Catholic Church, and he'd been raised a Methodist. So my mom and dad compromised and we became Episcopalian [can't say we aren't problem-solvers]. "Why didn't my dad like the Catholic Church," you ask? Well, if you read my 6-part series [yes, I said 6] on "Secrets" of my grandfather's then that might shed some light on it...So, what does this have to do with my Gran? One of my most vivid memories of her [other than her Southern hash] was that she was a devout Catholic who prayed religiously [pardon the pun]. She had her Saint Prayer Cards and her Rosary always in her pocket and she'd go outside to be in nature and talk to God...everyday...several times a day...without fail [in the rain, she'd sit on that same deck that my dad built...the one mentioned in "Runaway Bunny"]. And I remember when I was little thinking at the time that she and God sure talked a lot...[She was probably praying for my dad's non-Catholic soul! lol]

Three Managing Women

So here's to [really] 3 mom's my Gran, my Boo, and the outlandish Annie O'Brien [yeah, there's some stories there, too] - 3 hardworking, managing, Catholic women who never stopped and asked, "Why," but just kept working together to keep their homes together and their children healthy and happy...Happy Mother's Day, Gran, Boo, and Annie!

Caroline