Sunday, May 11, 2014

To a Mother Who Saved Everything


There are many ways to fĂȘte mothers on their special day, but none are so expensive or ornate as to come close to the hand-wrought tokens of appreciation of a young child.

If it were not for Agnes Tully Stevens’ propensity—just like her mother—to save every token of family regard, there wouldn’t be many of the letters, photographs, and even ephemera of Agnes’ Chicago lifespan from her 1888 birth to her passing nearly one hundred years later for me to share here on A Family Tapestry.

So perhaps it is fitting to take this Mother’s Day to share a handwritten greeting created—in booklet form containing four pages—by her then-twelve year old son, Frank, in honor of his mother.


FLOWERS
FOR
MOTHER

Masses Heard              V
H. Communions           V
Rosary                         I
Prayers                       XX


M  is for the mercy she possesses
O  means I owe her everything
T  means her tenderness
H  means her heart of Gold
E  means her eyes of sunshine
R  means right and right
she’ll always be
Put them all together
and they spell
Mother
She is all the world
to me.


                                              St. Anne’s School
                                              Mother’s Day
                                              May 1937
My Dear Mother
            Just a few lines to tell you I can never, never pay you for all you have done for me but I wont you to know I can and will always love, honer, and obey you.
                        Lovingly Yours
                        Francis


I think that we were
            very wise,
To choose you for a mother.

In all the wide world
            of folks,
We would not have another.

Today is the happy
            time
When we would sing
            a chorse
Of Love and Happiness
            to you
For all you’ve done
            for us.

8 comments:

  1. Aw, so previous.

    Happy Mother's Day!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Iggy. As you can tell, the impish and fun-loving Frank had a soft spot for his mother.

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  2. Replies
    1. Who would have thought they'd survive all those years to be pulled out and cherished again...by generations after Frank's been long gone....

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  3. Beautiful and dear. That will be a treasure to keep passing on.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, absolutely! In a way, it's sad to think this is the only way some family have of even knowing Frank, because of his untimely death. What a glimpse into the childhood heart of a man whose family saw him later in such a different light--or not at all.

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