MBCNews - MBC’s 'Mother' of Mother’s Day

MBC’s 'Mother' of Mother’s Day

2009-05-07

Anna Jarvis, an 1883 graduate of Augusta Female Seminary (which later became Mary Baldwin College), had an idea after her mother passed away in 1905: a nationally noted day set aside to honor mothers. According to information in the Mary Baldwin College (MBC) archives, she spent years sending letters to governors, members of Congress, mayors, educators, and newspaper editors to convince them of her cause.
She succeeded in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson — whose childhood home is just down the street from the college — signed a proclamation from Congress to establish the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day. Jarvis did not marry nor have children herself, but her personal quest to memorialize mothers continues to be observed across the country — and the world — 95 years after its designation. Even before her own death in 1948, Jarvis recognized the need to get the holiday back in line with her original hopes. It had become a commercialized marketing device rather than a day to truly recognize mothers’ contributions.
“Miss Jarvis thought Mother’s Day should be a day you spend with your mother,” said William Pollard, Mary Baldwin College archivist, “or a day when you do something special for her, like fix her dinner or repair her broken stairs. It was not supposed to be a day you buy her something.”

Increasing economic concerns and environmental astuteness make this Mother’s Day (May 10) a better time than ever to recall Anna Jarvis’ pure sentiment when she lobbied to honor her mother.
Read and listen to more: National Public Radio’s broadcast on BackStory, which will air at 4 p.m. May 9 on Harrisonburg’s WMRA: www.backstoryradio.org Newswise(national): www.newswise.com Home and Living Examiner(Norfolk, VA): www.examiner.com Rappahannock News(Rappahannock, VA): www.rappnews.com