HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHER

On this date April 20 in 1917, my mother Anna French Edwards (later Triplett, then Hollin)was born. At a time women basically maybe finished high school, then married, and had babies; she got a Master's Degree. She then married, had three children, and was widowed in her mid 30's.

Mother never worked for money, but she worked. Daddy was a doctor and she worked with him. She ran the office, she made house calls with him. After he died she "worked" in the accounting department of one of the banks. She would just go down to help out a friend who worked for money there. She organized an ecumenical retreat for several years. She was busy with church work and community work. Our town was hit by a devastating flood and Mother helped organize the relief work with the Red Cross.

While she did all this she was raising three children. Maybe some of the time not the way we three wanted it. But she was there to teach us to drive, to buy prom dresses, to go to concerts, to go to the end of the year events at my brother's school, to chaperon parties.

Anna would load a 9 passenger station wagon with teenagers and drive us to away ball games. Many of my friends didn't have much money, so she would buy their meals too. One of my classmates became pregant and was shunned by the town. My Mother and her Mother fed this young girl lunch during her pregnancy. My boyfriend was accused of stealing money at school. He came from a less than great family. Because no one would protect him, Anna went to school and got to the truth of the matter. He was innocent. She opened our home nearly every weekend for a safe place for teenagers to gather.

When I was in college she married my wonderful Papa Jack. He is a whole blog by himself. They moved to Louisville and then to the rural area in the next county. Anna helped incorporate the area and became a city council person. She served on the council until she was, I think 80, and then retired. On her 90Th birthday the city proclaimed that April 20Th would be Anna Hollin Day. They hang banners every April just to celebrate her birthday.

Mother is a huge University of Kentucky fan, football and basketball. She still tailgates all home football games. She no longer can do the stairs in the stadium, so for years she sits with the stadium crew inside and watches the game on TV.

Today she went to lunch with 11 eleven friends. Tonight she is having dinner out with family.

Happy Birthday Mother!