"Well, as long as you're OK."
by John Drury
I want to take a break from the politics for a week and dedicate this column to my mother in honor of Mother’s Day. My mother passed away on March 18, 1999 after a brief bout with lung cancer.
My mother taught me that in order to get anywhere in life, you couldn’t be afraid of hard work. I don’t recall her ever specifically sitting me down and teaching me this lesson, instead she taught by example.
As long as I can remember, she worked as hard as she could and if something needed to get done, she would be the one to do it. My mother had a strong work ethic and whether she knew it or not, she passed that on to all of her children as well.
My parents were divorced when I was a teenager and after my older brothers and sister had either gone off to college or moved away, it was just the two of us.
She worked for years at the hardware store here in Swaledale. G.A. Eddy & Sons TrueValue hardware was a full scale hardware store, complete with lumber yard and LP gas business. I would venture to say that my mother probably knew the product line better than anyone there. If you needed a particular piece of hardware, she knew exactly where it was. I can remember going into the store after school. I remember watching her help customers find what they were looking for. I have one of her nametags that she wore while she worked there. It has the TrueValue logo, underneath that is her name Marcelle, and under that it says Happy To Serve You.
I can’t imagine a more appropriate slogan for my mother to work by. She truly was happy to serve people. Later in life she took a job at Easter Seals in Mason City. She enjoyed that job as well and worked there until her retirement.
When she retired, she found that she perhaps had too much time on her hands. She would never come right out and say it, but I think she missed going to work every day and helping people. What she did come out and say was how proud she was of her children and grandchildren. She took great pride in watching us do well.
I want to share a story. The year was 1998 and I was living in Rhode Island at the time, but my wife and I were in Swaledale for a visit. It was the end of June and time for the town’s annual 4th of July celebration. Almost every town has some annual event where they have a parade, town picnic, games for the kids, perhaps a street dance, and Swaledale was no exception. Swaledale Big Day is held the last Saturday in June. We have all of the required elements for a town celebration and we top it off with a street dance at night. We close off main street, hire a band or a disc jockey and literally dance in the street.
This particular Big Day was probably the hottest it’s ever been in Swaledale. The day’s events were pulled off without a hitch until it was time for the street dance. As my wife and I were waiting for the dance to begin, the Swaledale Fire Dept. went through town advising everyone that there was a tornado coming right towards Swaledale and we were to take cover. We happened to be outside the old hardware store which is now an industrial door business called Doors, Inc. We quickly took cover in the basement thinking that our lives could quite possibly be over. As I sat there waiting for the tornado to either hit or miss us, I remember thinking about the old pop machine the hardware store used to have. I could get a bottle of pop for a dime after school and I often did. I wondered if it was still there.
The tornado missed Swaledale by about a mile and we were relieved. Not only because we were spared the devastation, but also because now we had a legitimate reason to dance in the street. I called my mother after the all clear was issued and told her we were OK. She asked me where we were. I told her we were “in Doors.” She said, “but where are you?” I said, “we are in Doors.” There was a slight pause and she said, “well, as long as you’re OK.” At that point I realized she thought I was telling her that we were indoors but didn’t want to be specific. We shared a good laugh and I still chuckle about it today.
Saturday’s storm brought beautiful weather on Sunday. Celeste and I were supposed to leave in the afternoon for Rhode Island. I remember the family sitting in the grass in the shaded front yard and discussing calling the airline to postpone our flight another day. I am glad we did. It was our last visit before she got sick.
My mother gave me my love for public service. There is a certain amount of sacrifice and when done well, a lot of work involved in being a mayor of a small town. I believe that a love for public service coupled with a strong work ethic were very important traits for me to have.
Everything I set out to accomplish as mayor, I worked as hard as I could to get the job done. My mother wouldn’t have it any other way. And I am very grateful to her.