The Legacy of a sewing machine story
My mother’s parents came to the United States from Germany and pioneered in Jerome, Idaho in the early 1900’s. The youngest of 10 children, she grew up during a war and during a depression in a time of prejudices against Germans in her communit y. She learned to sew as a young girl and her older married sister would send her material … she made her own patterns and sewed everything. I grew up with Mom’s sewing. She always said, “she knew that if she had her sewing machine, she could make a living and support herself sewing.” Even after my father was gone and she had eye sight into her late 80’s she used her sewing machine to add some income to her limited income. As a young girl, on my eighth christmas, I became ill with Rhymatic fever and could not walk for several months. That Christmas I received a toy sewing machine that you crank to make the needle go up and down to actually make little doll clothes. I spent the days setting up in bed … cranking the little handle of that sewing machine and learning to sew for the first time. She passed her legacy of sewing to me. Now, It thrills my heart to see the legacy left to me by my mother is being shared in India and Nigeria with GMMC “Marie’s Sewing Centers to help other women know that they can always provide for their families with their sewing machine. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving. ……………….
There is much more to this story to be continued