Letter to the Editor - Celebrate a real gift of life for Mother's Day

Mothers are a gift of life. Many women of the 19th century believed they had a responsibility to care for the casualties of society. For example, organized women in the Appalachians improved sanitation. In 1858 Anna Jarvis encouraged women of both the North and South to care for the wounded in the Civil War.

In fact, so many states had an official Mothers Day that in 1872, Julia Ward Howe, proposed an annual Mother’s Day for Peace. For the next 30 years, many celebrated such on June 2.

 In 1913, Congress established Mothers Day as the second Sunday in May. Then what happened?

Commercial interests recognized an opportunity to exploit so now its a billion-dollar day.

Imagine instead, a Million Mothers March to the nation’s capital demanding equality! We would certainly celebrate that.

Until that march, my four children honor me by taking loving care of the casualties of society. Pass that on and celebrate a real gift of life on Mother’s Day.

Dorothy Starshine

Great Falls