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FeatureRemembering my grandmotherBy Wendell Williams Special to Frost IllustratedI saw a reference on your website about mv grandmother (March 11-17,20119, Vol. 41, Issue 10), Margaret Ilowell. I thought 1 would add some additional details just in cas; you wished to expand your biographical summary.First, in additional to handing out fliers for the Republican Parly, she ultimately served as vice chairperson of Fort Wayne Republican Patty in the mid-1950s. 1 remember her visit to my family after she attended Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1957. She brought memorabilia from ibe activities and entertained us with stories about the ceremony. I am not sure if that is what inspired me to ultimately move to D.C. area andhosf visitors, earlier this year, to the inauguration of our first African American president or not,I also want to note that though her profile in your publication might foster an image of her as a crusadet, she did this in a persistent and non-confmntationsl manner. She simply inspired people ro do the right thing, softly, gently but io an unrelenting manner and noil-judgmental manner.1 remember my first visit to her hotel (the Hotel Howell on Hanna Street) at the age of five or six. The hotel bad the benefit of being connected to an ice cream parlor next door. As a young boy, ihis certainly seemed to be a welcome neighbor.Though neither my grandmother nor grandfather attended college, two of three of her children received college degrees (all graduated from high school), all of her grandchildren did' as well and most of her great grandchildren will probably complete (if they haven’t already) professional degrees (e.g. law and medical degrees) and graduate degrees. This is not by chance, but is probably a result of, at least in part, the importance that my grandmother attached to education.Even as t child, my grandmother asked about my grades. Iflreceived an “A grade, she asked which one (the highest or the lowest). The implicit message was that you should always try to do your best. Even though wc all knew that prejudice played a part in the grading system within the integrated school system” I attended, she never found that to be an acceptable excuse for doing less than your best.This value has been passed down through three generations so far. So though she has passed, her story hasn’t ended.Alt/hough my grandmother continually strove to overcome the impact of Jim Crow (in Georgia and Indiana) in a self-reliant way, sheliked and got along with all kinds of people. She loved tn travel and enjoyed the company of all kinds o: people, rich and poor, young and old, biack. brown, red, yellow and white continues in the family tradition. Wherever my brother and I lived, she made an effort to visit us (Hawaii or Washington. D.C.).1 still remember the day I visited her home in Fort Wayne, during a post-college cross-country drive. 1 was accompanied by a college friend who happened to be the sheltered” son of a multimillionaire who had his own personal seat on die New York Stock Exchange. She pulled me aside after noticing that the pleasant but “sheltered” young man who was moving to California to live on his own, might need some real world guidance. She winked and directed me to keep ait eye on him and help him when he needed it. We both knew what she meant, Wc are all our brother’s keepers.I hope these comments humanize her. 1 hope these recounted memories might allow your readers to recognize that the African American women you profiled in your publication weren’t heroes in a Hollywood sense but heroes in a real way, each and everyday of their lives— in ways that each of can and should strive to he.A family reunion at grandma’s house. Bottom row, left to right: Grandma with her daughter, Evelyn Taylor; grandma; har granddaughter, Yvette Walker Nichols; and grandma’s daughter-in-law, Belle Walker, Top row, left to right: Grandma’s grandson, Ronald Williams; another grandson, Dr. Wendell Williams; her husband, Thirman Howell; grandma's oldest daughter, Dorothy Williams; and her son, Fred Walker.
Newspaper Details
Fort Wayne Frost Illustrated
Fort Wayne, Indiana, US
Wed, Apr 22, 2009
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Marilyn H.
USA 25 Mar 2025
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