On My Mother’s Birthday

Today our sweet mother, Mary Alice Newell, would have been ninety-one. In the photo of her holding a small dog, I believe she was probably a sophomore in high school. The other photo of her and me was taken shortly before her passing in 2013.

Her story of growing into young adulthood, the problems she had to face and overcome are spoken of in two diaries she kept. I’ve included an article I wrote about her early life based on her diaries. There’s also much information in the article about Waltonville, Illinois high school life in the 1940s.