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Thu, Nov 26 2009 

Published: September 14, 2009 03:41 pm    print this story   email this story  

Ms. Takes: Grandma was a woman ahead of her time

By Liz Ciancone
Special to the Tribune-Star

I don’t remember Grandma voting. Of course she would not have been allowed to vote until after August 1920, but knowing her, I’ll bet she was first in the door when the polls opened.

In many ways she was a remarkable woman. Her life began in the midst of the 19th century and lasted well into the 20th. In an age when a woman’s career options began — and ended — with marriage and motherhood, Grandma went to college.

She didn’t earn a four-year degree, but served as a teacher based on a two-year provisional certificate. I’d like to have known my great-grandparents who actually financed advanced education for a woman. Grandma’s brother stayed on the farm and none of the other three girls went to college.

Grandma did marry — obviously or I wouldn’t be here. She and grandpa had three sons and a daughter with only Dad and one brother surviving into adulthood.

I don’t know whether or not Grandma marched with the suffragettes, but if she didn’t talk the talk, she certainly walked the walk.

Grandpa was sheriff of Ford County, Illinois. In addition, he owned a livery stable and had been appointed post master at Piper City by President McKinley. So, while Grandpa was out chasing horse thieves — all the way to Alaska once — Grandma ran the livery stable and the post office. Maybe she couldn’t vote, but she kept things humming at home, at the livery stable and at the post office.

She had help at home. In the early years of the 19th century, almost everyone had a “hired girl.”

Dad was the elder of the surviving sons and, I gather, something of a tear-about. He owned a motorcycle. I guess horses weren’t fast enough for him. So, Grandma put him to work delivering rural mail. I have a cherished picture of Dad on his motorized “horse” with his dog, Pat, and a bag of mail in the sidecar as he headed out for a day’s delivery.

Grandma was not an easy woman. She was certainly ahead of her time and she made her life count. Sometimes I worry that I’m a lot like the difficult part. That may be a good thing, or maybe not.

Whether or not she actually fought for the vote, I never miss a chance to cast my ballot.

Liz Ciancone is a retired Tribune-Star reporter. Send e-mail to opinion@tribstar.com.

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