10 -Women’s Diverse Roles: Small Town GA
As I look through my 1964 diary writings, I am reminded of the varied roles that women played in my community. When I see references in today’s media that point back to the early 1960s, I am often amused that all women of that era are typically depicted as stay-at-home-moms or housewives, which in and of itself is both praiseworthy and commendable . TV shows such as Donna Reed, Father Knows Best, or Leave It To Beaver magnified those images. Those of us who have walked several paths in our lives know those stay-at-home roles require as much diligence, focus, and hard work as anything pursued outside the home.
In thinking about the women, just in my neighborhood, I remember varied stories.
On the street where I lived in 1964, I saw these next-mentioned women daily, whether running into them at the local post office, grocery store, or simply while I was playing outside in the neighborhood.
Ms. Bertha, Ms. Louise, Aunt Marion, Ms. Frances, Ms. Cherry, Ms. Daisy, Ms. Peagler, Ms. Dot, Ms. Lily, Ms. Nell, Ms. Kenmore, Ms. Ethel and Ms. Dolores. I’ll include my mom in that group, who my neighborhood friends called Ms. Sara. Yes, I saw her everyday :)
A thread that ran prominently through their lives was that everyone had multi-faceted roles. Several had husbands who ran their own businesses. Thereby, wives and family members became business ‘partners’ early on. Whether the family business was a grocery store, a small dry goods store, gas station (referred to as a ‘filling station’), or an auto mechanic shop, the man might have been thought of as the small businessman, but the woman in the partnership, played a big role in the success of that venture.
She might have been the bookkeeper, tax advisor, the buyer, or also part-time store clerk. From that neighborhood group, I recall a schoolteacher, a partner in a grocery store, a writer for the county newspaper, a secretary, a clerk in the city post office, a self-employed music teacher, a partner in an auto mechanic garage, and a co-owner of a filling station.
The women who were full time stay-at-home moms or housewives typically volunteered throughout the community as boy/girl scout troop leaders, Sunday School teachers, county historical commission members, leaders of the club groups such as 4-H, Girl’s Auxiliary, or Junior Garden Club.
I also recall other women (not just on ‘my’ street) around town providing housekeeping services for others. They were early entrepreneurs, before the word came into vogue. There were waitresses and cooks in small restaurants, telephone operators, farm workers (joining men in harvesting crops) and assistants in the doctor or dentist offices. A few women filled federal, state or county jobs whether in the local courthouse or in a neighboring town or on the large Army infantry training base just 20 miles away.
My mom talked to me some about the changing roles of women, which she saw as beginning to explode during the World War II years. She worked for the GA Power Company as a young woman during and just after the war years. I’ve heard these observations from history related specifically to the shifting and emerging paths for women during that era, but it especially came to life for me having my own mom address it and experience it.
I finish this ‘story’ with the observation that more young women who were just graduating high school in the 1963, 1964, and 1965 were choosing to go on to college. A cousin’s college years led to her being a medical technician before later becoming a teacher; a neighbor of that year group looked at Business as a major. Another was interested in a more traditional Early Childhood Education focus. My own mother (who was NOT of that year group, but rather a 1931 high school graduate) had a two-year degree from Andrew College with a major in Music. Society was beginning to be more encouraging of women to explore other paths and possibilities along with the traditional role of wife and mother.
