Bertha Hodgens

is honored with a Brick from Mary Jo Ohlemeier.

My mother, Bertha Alice Willard Hodgens, was born August 11, 1893, near Chula, Arkansas. Her father Oscar and mother Alice had migrated to Arkansas to become farmers after failing to make their fortune in California. In addition to my mother, my grandparents had four other daughters. While all of the girls were still very young, the family's home burned to the ground, even though my grandfather tried valiantly to save it. Because of the burns he sustained during the fire, Oscar developed pneumonia and died, leaving my grandmother with five children to support.

Grandmother Alice and the girls continued to work hard on their small farm. Finally, in 1912, Alice decided to join a group of people who were going to move west into Oklahoma. By this time, the two oldest daughters were married, so brave Alice loaded up her three youngest daughters, the family's most important possessions and the family dog into a covered wagon and headed for Oklahoma. As Mama recounted her memories of the difficult journey, she always laughingly told of the faithful dog walking beside the wagon every step of the way.

After settling in eastern Oklahoma, my mother met Raymond Hodgens, a coal miner who would become her husband, and, eventually, my father. They were married on November 15, 1914 and Bertha began her new life. In 1916, Bertha bore her first child, a son whom my dad proudly named Champ Hodgens. Next came their second son, Dale. In 1928 my mother gave birth to me, the daughter she had so wanted. Bertha was a doting mother who enjoyed cooking, sewing and tending her flowers. Through the Home Demonstration Club and its education classes, she became a highly skilled seamstress and tailor. I remember going to the County Fair and seeing her canned goods and articles of clothing displayed with blue ribbons galore. I also remember the beautiful dresses and coats she made for me. I always felt like I was the best dressed girl in town!

When the Great Depression hit, it had a profound effect on our family, as it did on everyone. In 1932, when my brother Champ graduated from high school, he went to work with my dad in the coal mines. We lost our brother Dale in a swimming accident during this same time period. Now, with only me to really nurture, my mother became even more devoted to me and we developed a very close mother and daughter relationship.

Even though times were hard, our family always had as much as most, and often more than many others. During those Depression years, I truly learned what it means to help others. My mother's formal education had ended with the eighth grade. But through the years, Mama educated herself in any way available to her. Most of these classes had been through the Home Demonstration Club. When the Depression hit, she began to share her knowledge and skills with other women who needed to learn how to sew and how to use a pressure cooker to safely can the fruits and vegetables they were growing. Mama also became a 4-H Club leader and spent countless hours teaching young girls how to sew. Her patience and natural teaching skills enabled many of them to become quite proficient seamstresses. Some were even able to go into business for themselves after learning their skills from her. What a tribute to Mama as a teacher and educator!

As I think back over a lifetime of memories of my mother, most prominent are the acts of kindness and love she shared with her friends and neighbors. For example, one of our neighboring families, the Buckners, had eleven children. All of these children have always proudly said that Bertha Hodgens was present to help deliver every one of them. As their mother said, "Bertha usually beat the doctor to the house!" To show respect for Mama, six of the Buckner children came to her funeral with three of them traveling over 300 miles to be there.

Education was indeed a top priority in Mama's life. She was a self educated person who truly made the most of her opportunities. For as long as I can remember, she told me that I would go to college. How proud she was to see me earn three college degrees and to see her daughter-in-law and all three of her grandchildren earn one degree or more. Mama's dreams of her children and grandchildren having the formal education she never got did indeed come true.

Lest you think I have glorified Mama and made her all saint and nary a bit sinner, I will confess to you that she did have one huge fault: Mama had no sense of time. When she became involved in a project, she could not find a stopping place. She never made her appointments on time - unless it was the birth of a baby! Mama did her own thing and she did it well. But she did it in her own time frame and that aspect of her life never changed.

Bertha Alice Willard Hodgens was an outstanding person. She was a woman ahead of her time in many ways because she realized the value of education and the responsibility of sharing that education with others. She learned about nutrition and the value of healthy eating. She lived a full life - a life of joy and sorrow, a life of little and plenty. Although she died December 29, 1975, the greatest thing about my mother and her life is that she lives on through many people who were fortunate enough to have known her and to have shared an experience with her.

Submitted by Mary Jo Hodgens Ohlemeier

September 4, 1998