Famous Mothers

Alice Waters

It was 1963, in Paris, while walking through the fruit and vegetable market Alice Waters was struck by the display of brilliant colors, the music of farmers selling their produce, and in the middle of a great city, she felt "directly connected to the land." Chez Panisse, a Berkeley restaurant, which was founded upon Waters' ecological philosophy and which, has been named "The Best Restaurant in America" by both the James Beard Foundation and by Gourmet magazine, many times in the past. Only the food grown in accordance with the principles of sustainable agriculture was used in the restaurant. Menus offered nightly at Chez Panisse have consisted only of fresh ingredients, harvested in season, and purchased from local farmers.

Alice Waters has successfully demonstrated how a restaurant can flourish while contributing to the general welfare of the farming community. Sharing a meal between the people was one of the wishes of Alice Waters as she would love her customer's to know each other. In 1996, inspired by The Garden Project at the San Francisco County Jail, Waters decided to apply her principles to education. The project was initiated at the Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkeley with the idea to transform some land near the school into a garden and, in the process, to teach local school children about food and agriculture. In 1999, over 120 people came to help plant the first cover crop, which prepared the field for cultivation by adding nutrients to the soil.

The student garden staff has had several years' worth of harvest, and has started growing gardens like herb and tea. Here, agricultural practices are continually being revised and updated and every year the Schoolyard staff attends the Ecological Farming Conference in Monterey. A kitchen classroom has also been created, where students learn about staple foods eaten in other parts of the world.

"I believe that every child in this world needs to have a relationship with the land...to know how to nourish themselves...and to know how to connect with the community around them," says Waters. The middle school has become a model in itself. The students cultivate and harvest the crops, while the cafeteria buys and prepares the produce for school lunches. This program will go a long way in teaching kids to value fresh food and their own contributions. This project is sure to inspire a national change in school curricula. In fact, many middle and high schools in California and Ohio have launched similar projects. In 1997, Alice Waters received the Humanitarian Award from the James Beard Foundation in recognition of her dedication and contribution towards environment. In 1999, the United States Department of Education Secretary, Richard Riley, honored her with a John H. Stanford "Education Hero" award.

Anna Jarvis - Mother Of Mother's Day

The women of the Jarvis family possessed an obsession towards activism which was hardly seen in the women of their times in the 1900's. Though there were, in fact, several reform movements that women were engaged in during that time period including The temperance and suffrage were the movements in which some women were engaged (both of which the Jarvis women participated in) but most women devoted their time solely on their family and homes. The Jarvis women, on the other hand were working to ensure that these homemakers were recognized and honored in their work as mothers. Thus, the mother of the household, Mrs. Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis helped develop the "Mothers Friendship Day" to assist in the healing of the nation after the Civil War. After the death of her mother, Anna Jarvis decided to dedicate her life to her mother's cause and to establish Mother's Day to "honor mothers, living and dead."

Anna spent her childhood at Grafton. She attended college in Virginia and then returned to Grafton to become a teacher. From her childhood she remembered how important the cause of establishing a day of recognition for mothers was to her own mother.

Thus, the Mother's Day was established by the determination of a loving daughter. Miss Jarvis worked industriously, writing innumerable letters to influential people and distributing pamphlets to gain recognition for motherhood. It was due to Anna's tireless work and efforts that the first Mother's Day service was held on May 10, 1907 (though some sources state 1908), at her mother's church, St. Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton. She passed out more than 500 white carnations, one for each mother in the congregation. The white carnation was her most favorite because it represented the purity of a mother's heart. A white carnation was worn to honor deceased mothers and a red one to honor a living mother.

John Wanamaker, a great merchant and philanthropist from Philadelphia joined led by Anna's campaign, giving a great fillip to the cause. It helped the movement to grow. Her efforts started bearing fruit and by 1912 West Virginia became the first state to adopt an official Mother's Day, and finally by 1914, the Congress passed a joint resolution, signed by President Woodrow Wilson, to establish Mother's Day.

Despite all the joy surrounding her successful campaign, all was not bliss. Miss Jarvis became very concerned with the steadily increasing commercialization of Mother's Day and opposed the selling of flowers and the use of greeting cards. She felt that her holiday, which was meant to be a "noble and true" celebration, had been exploited for profit. Miss Jarvis was concerned with reform, not revenue.

The Mother's Day movement was a celebration of the importance of women and their work inside the home, as mothers. The very involvement of Anna Jarvis and other activists brought the role of mothers and homemakers into the eyes of the public- giving it positive exposure, acknowledgment, and public admiration.

The resolve and resilience of Anna Jarvis and her mother towards their causes and beliefs made them a hero. She is a true hero not only because of her devotion, love, and loyalty as daughter but also as her dedication as a sibling, caring for her unsound sister. It is a great irony that the women who worked for the cause of other women couldn't become a mother herself. But through her work, she earned the title of the "Mother of Mother's Day,"- a title as grand as her beautiful cause.

Harriet Tubman

HarrietTubman was born into slavery in Maryland in 1820 or 1821. She was forced to work at the age of five. But Harriet was a very smart and a very strong individual and was determined to have her own way out. At the age of 13, she got a head injury, causing blackouts throughout her life. In 1844, Harriet married John Tubman, a free black man. After the death of the plantation owner, she made her way on foot to Pennsylvania, some 90 miles, to escape more harsh conditions. Harriet Tubman worked hard for two years, saving money to return to Maryland for the sake of her sister and her children. She undertook many regular trips at the risk of her life. Harriet was a shrewd planner and always chose a different route and disguises to avoid being caught. Awards totaling $40,000 were offered for her arrest, but she was never caught.

During the Civil War, Harriet worked as a nurse and scout for the North. She was honored for her work, more than once, by the Union Army. Ultimately she led about 300 people to freedom in Canada and became famous as the "Moses of Her People". She continued to serve others by establishing a home for the elderly in upstate New York, and died, in poverty, in 1913. The Harriet Tubman Home for Aged and Indigent Colored People in Auburn is now a museum. Harriet Tubman was undoubtedly an extraordinary woman who, in spite of physical handicap and lack of education, dedicated her life to save the lives of others. She is indeed a hero to those she rescued and helped and to those millions who never met her but admire her even to this day.

Mother Teresa - Greatest Mother

The title of 'Mother' is the biggest honor I have ever received".-Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born in Albania and her real name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. When she was just eighteen years, she attended the religious order-'Our Lady of Loreto' in Ireland. It was in 1931, that the Mother took the name of Teresa from the French nun Thérèse Martin, who was canonized in 1927 with the title St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1937, Mother Teresa took her vows. She taught in Saint Mary's High School, Kolkata for almost 20 years. It was the turning point of her carrier.

The mother was moved by utter poverty, suffering and misery of a large number of people in India; she decided to dedicate her whole life for the welfare of the poor and took Indian citizenship in 1948. Mother Teresa established the Missionaries of Charity- which was to be the centre of all her activities with its branches spread in many parts of the country.

Mother Teresa began her work by teaching street children. Then in the year 1950, she started care centre for the patients of leprosy. It was in the year 1965 that the Pope Paul VI brought the Missionaries of Charity under his fold and gave Mother Teresa permission to expand her Order in other countries as well.

Mother Teresa's efforts and her dedication were recognized all over the world and she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Although she had reservations but finally she accepted it on behalf of the "poorest of the poor". The cruel hands of destiny snatched the angel of love from us in the year 1997. Although Mother Teresa is not amongst us, her sacrifice and dedication has set a great example for others to follow.