A Tribute to My Mother and Grandmother on Mother's Day

My mother and grandmother were revered cooks and bakers in their little slice of Appalachian Ohio in the mid-20th century. My grandmother even won 11 blue ribbons at the county fair one year, which drew the notice of the Fleischmann's Yeast company. The company featured her and my mother in a magazine ad -- but their names weren't correct in the ad copy. Looking over this ad one day inspired this poem. Today I share it with you in tribute to my mother and grandmother... and to mothers everywhere.

A Name for Herself

The page is yellow and faded now
But the smiling faces are still clear
It is a moment captured in time
A Fleischmann’s Yeast ad -- featuring my grandmother with her young daughter
Singing praises for the 11 blue ribbons she won at the fair
It was an opportunity for this country woman to make a name for herself
But those city men called her “Mrs. George McInturf” and my mother “Peggy Jane”
(Even though their names were Dorothy Estella and Peggy Jan)
Those who read the ads never knew
Just two nameless faces promoting a product
Just two nameless women baking bread in the hills