by Steven Skelley
My mother’s
name was Sherill May McWilliams (Skelley) but I called her Mom.
Mom was
very beautiful as a teen and twenty-something. I always thought she looked like
Lucille Ball when she was young. She looked like an old-fashioned movie star.
I’ve seen photos
of her as a teen wearing a sleeveless, fitted dress blouse, Capri pants and
sunglasses. She was young, fit, thin and beautiful.
When I
close my eyes and try to picture her as an adult, I remember her wearing pant
suits with coordinated slacks and tops or sundresses with floppy movie-star
hats and sunglasses.
Mom liked
to dye her hair red or light reddish brown. She wore red finger nail polish and
lipstick. This made me think of her even more like the young and beautiful
Lucille Ball.
If I close my
eyes, I can picture Mom right now, about 35 years old on a summer day, wearing
a scarf on her head and sunglasses on her eyes, somehow also looking like Jacqueline
Kennedy in the 1960s. I can see Mom smile as she looks over Atwood Lake
while a breeze ruffles the hair that sticks out under the edges of her scarf.
She had a
great smile as well as a slight country accent from growing up in a town named
Barnesville.
Mom and Grandma McWilliams (her Mom)
Mom and
Grandma Mc (Virginia Margaret McWilliams) were mother and daughter but they were also best pals. They laughed
constantly when they were together no matter what they were doing. It was great
seeing them having fun together and loving each other so much.
Mom and
Grandma Mc were probably the ones most responsible for my love of reading. We
would walk from Grandma and Grandpa Mc’s house to downtown Canton. We’d visit the library and the used
book store. They’d let me sit and read and get out as many books as I wanted.
We’d
continue our downtown walks by window-shopping in the stores like Kresge’s,
Woolworth’s and McCrory’s. Sometimes we would have lunch at the store lunch
counter.
I have very
pleasant memories of those walks, especially at Christmas time when all the
city decorations and lights were up, the stores’ front windows were all
decorated with shining Christmas trees and enticing gifts, and people were ice
skating in the square as Christmas music played in the background.
When we
were little, Mom and Grandma Mc liked to take us (Skip, Sherry, Susie and me)
to Mother Goose Land. It was a small, themed park at the end of the Canton Park
system, not far from the McKinley
Monument. The
admission was 25 cents if I remember correctly. The entrance looked like a castle.
Mom and
Grandma Mc would let us play on the playground and then walk us through the
life-sized story-themed prop displays like Wizard of Oz, Ali Babba’s Treasure Cave, Jonah’s Whale, etc. There was also
a petting zoo and a set for the Three Little Pigs complete with a wooden wolf,
a three pig homes and three live pigs! (Pigs are stinky, by the way )
Sometimes,
if there was any spare cash, we each got a marshmallow ice cream cone that
probably cost a nickel or dime.
Mom and
Grandma would also take us to the McKinley
Monument and have us walk
the stairs to the top and then turn and enjoy the view. They also let us play
and roll down the grassy hillside to the bottom and sled ride there in the
winter, ice skate in the frozen pond and warm our hands by the wood fires people made in 50 gallon barrels.
Mom loved
visiting Barnesville, Ohio where she was born. She loved visiting
relatives there and attending the annual Pumpkin Festival.
Grandma Mc
told us that Mom was born on the kitchen table back in the days when doctors
made house calls. How things change from one generation to the next!
I don’t
remember Mom having a full-time job during most of my childhood but I do seem
to remember her working part-time with Grandma McWilliams as a cleaning lady in
an office building in downtown Canton, Ohio across from the 200 year old Church of the Savior United
Methodist Church
(where I would eventually work on-staff as Contemporary Music Director).
Mom and
Grandma Mc cleaned the offices in the evenings after the doctors and business
people left. I remember Grandma saying she was often stuck by syringe needles
when she emptied trash cans. It was before there were controls over medical
waste.
One of my
funniest memories of Mom and Grandma Mc was when a nightclub opened for women
only. It was called the Regal Beagle, if I remember correctly. The club had male exotic dancers like
the Chippendales! Women would line up down the sidewalk for a block waiting to
get in. One day I was walking to a friend’s house when I saw Mom and Grandma
Mc, grinning from ear to ear, right in line with all the other women waiting to
see the half-naked male stripper dancers!! Go Mom and Grandma Mc! Good for
you!! I love that memory.
Hugs, Music and The Wizard of Oz
Mom was
very tactile and very loving. She loved to hug and kiss her children on the
cheek. We’d all giggle when she left a big lipstick kiss-mark on our cheeks.
If I sat
with her on the sofa or swing, she would hum or sing while she’d gently rub my
arm, back or head so softly it almost put me to sleep.
Getting up
on the cold, Ohio winter mornings for school, no matter how grumpy I was that
morning, Mom always walked me to the door and sent me off to school with her
wonderful smile and the words, “Honey (or Stevie)….have a great day.”
I am sure
she knew school wasn’t going to be a lot of fun for poorer kids like us so she
tried to start off the day on a positive note. I appreciate that a lot more now
than I did then I suppose.
Mom loved
listening to music and singing along. She had a record player in the dining
room and played records by Elvis and Judy Garland. She also had records of the
soundtracks from The Wizard of Oz and
West Side Story. Whenever we were in the car, Mom would turn on the AM radio and we would all sing along to the songs together.
Back before
there were videos and DVDs, the television broadcasters would air The Wizard of Oz once a year. It was a
big deal. Mom always gathered us all together, made inexpensive Chef Boyardee pizza
or even less expensive popcorn and we all watched
The Wizard of Oz together. It was great family time.
Mom was
poor almost all of her life though there were several better years when Dad was
working union wage factory jobs and we could make ends meet and even have some
fun.
Mom was
hospitalized numerous times and had more than her share of operations. Dad told me that Mom
had as many miscarriages as children. I don't know if he was exaggerating.
Eventually she would be overcome by pain
and the hardships of life and she would unsuccessfully attempt suicide. Having
had more than a dozen surgeries myself and having suffered decades of pain, I
understand how she could become overcome and just want to end the pain. She wasn't weak.
Mom passed
away at age 45 - too young. The coroner did an autopsy and ruled it an
accidental overdose of prescription medicines.
Mom was
buried in Barnesville, Ohio next to her best pal, her Mom – Grandma
Mc.
She
deserved a better life than she got.
In spite of
it all, she had a great smile, a great hug, and when she was happy, it was
infectious.
That’s how
I choose to remember her…in those happier times.
She died a
year before my daughter Steffany was born.
Mom would have loved Steffany. They
are so much alike with their ability to smile, laugh and reach out to others
with love.
They would have been pals.
I can just
imagine all the mischief, love and laughter they would have shared together. I
am sorry they never met.
****Steven Skelley is a published author of
several nonfiction works and the novella The Gargoyle Scrolls. He has been a
newspaper columnist, travel writer, news writer, ordained minister, music
director, creative arts director, theater reviewer and tennis instructor.
