Maggie's Farm

I am now at a time in my life where I can look back on my mother's life and be so proud of her. She grew up in Cleveland during the depression and immediately after WWII she got a divorce, packed up her car and drove to California (1949). She went looking for the job at the end of the rainbow in Los Angeles. What she did there was open her own little two chair beauty parlor close to the airplane assembly plant. She kept both of those chairs filled and never hired an assistant. She did hair for the women working in those plants on both shifts: day and late day shifts. My mom worked 5 days a week and managed to keep us in a nice tidy little house. In 1952 she bought a new car (Kaiser) and in 1954 she wanted to see what it looked like down there in Mexico. She and her new husband drove from LA to Mexico City by themselves--totally unprepared. But she chased off the bad guys when they were trying to strip down her new car, and they drove home with her very sick with traveller's tummy. But, what she talked about was not the inconveniences. No, my mom talked about what she had witnessed--too many people, too much poverty, beautiful library and museums, bad roads, etc. My mom worked and supported herself and several others until she was 82. I believe she may have completed 7th grade. She never smoked, drank, and seldom swore (never the F word). She did not go to church, but made darn sure I did. SHE was LIBERATED without any of her sisters helping out. She was a woman who could and did stand alone and the first step she took was to leave Cleveland and family!