FLYING TO FLORIDA IN THE 1940s

Rosetta's mother and sister Jean in the 1940s in Florida

Every year Rosetta's brother Al made it a point to send his mother Mathilda and his sister Jean to Florida during the harsh Chicago winters. Jean was eighteen when Rosetta was born, and as the oldest of ten children she had been a little mom to several of her siblings. Jean's help made it easier for her mother to care for so many kids, and Al always treated her as a second mother.

Traveling by air in the 1940s  was far from the norm, but Al knew the trip by train had become very taxing for his mother. Although it was extremely expensive in those days, he convinced her that it was the only way to go. He drove them to the airport and as they sat in the passenger area waiting to board the plane, Mathilda was mentally prepared for the adventure of actually flying through the air.

Mathilda, a very little woman, was small but mighty. To give you an idea, Jean was only five feet tall, and you can see how much shorter her mother was.

However, there was a young couple also waiting to board the propeller plane that day, and the young woman was absolutely terrified.

As Rosetta related the story, even though Mathilda spoke very little English, she approached the young woman and with Jean's help got her message across. Essentially it was:


"I'm an old woman and I'm not afraid of this newfangled contraption. You are a young beautiful woman and should be fearless, but if it will help, please hold my hand. I will give you some of my courage."


In later years, the roles switched and Jean became the one taking care my Grandmother. Both of them lived into their 90s while Rosetta's father died in the 1930s. It is no mystery where Rosetta got that indomitable spirit. Although her mother was generally a very quiet woman, there was an underlying strength and she passed it along to her ten children. When Rosetta was still alive, she said their father, my Grandfather, had a fantastic sense of humor and that was why the family was always laughing, regardless of the situation, and the neighbors asked if they could join the laughter. Rosetta got the best of both. Her mother's gentle strength and her father's humor.

Read her stories in "Can We Come In and Laugh, Too?" Over 6,000 copies downloaded since May. Also available in paperback.

Rosetta was a "fountain of wisdom" - She just didn't know it

Rosetta considered herself an ordinary woman. Having begged to be allowed to go to high school and take a commercial course back in 1923 when most kids from poor families went to work as young as ten or twelve years old to help support the family, Rosetta and her sister Edna were the only ones of ten children who were able to convince their parents to allow them to continue their education.

That wasn't where her thirst for knowledge ended. She always was an avid reader and possessed a keen sense of what was obvious and what was right. 

Her grandson Scott said it best. When he enrolled in the engineering program at University of Alaska in Fairbanks he was definitely challenged. His preparation in math was beyond poor -- it was disastrous, so he had to work very hard to learn what he should have learned in high school. Many times he was ready to give up, but it was Rosetta to the rescue. Here is a small excerpt from what he wrote in Part II of Can We Come In and Laugh, Too?

"I always knew I could get re-energized by Grandma. The next year, I skipped the year of trigonometry and the year of geometry courses and went right into the full on three-semester Sequence Calculus course, My professors allowed me to make this quantum leap as I was already using some of the three untaken math courses in the engineering coursework.

Initially, I thought I was going to die. However, my twice per week calls to Grandma were just the right medicine for academic anxiety. She always found a way to remove my stress and replace it with hope and courage. It was a gift that she had, for which I am forever grateful. With her encouragement, I was able to hold my head above water in all those subjects and even got B and A grades in them."

As the years rolled by, Grandma was there just as she promised. The courses got a lot more difficult and I can assure you that she knew nothing about differential equations, fluid mechanics or properties of materials; however, she knew exactly what to say to point me in the right direction. With a loving dose of encouragement, I was recharged and ready to take on the world.

Even when Rosetta was an old woman, while her friends watched the "Soaps" on TV,  she loved to watch programs like Face the Nation and Meet the Press to keep up on what was happening in the world. She would tune to any geographical or historical program that caught her eye, and when a country or place was mentioned that she was unfamiliar with, Rosetta reached for the huge World Atlas on her coffee table and looked up every fact about it. She also treasured her National Geographic Magazines and kept many back issues handy to read and refer to.


Life wasn't always "smooth sailing" for her, but Rosetta managed to find the humor even when the situation was dire and went through life with a smile on her face. She was able to transfer the ability to overcome negativity to everyone she came in touch with.