the busy housewives club ...

wade has an old picture of gallatin that we've recently hung over our desk in the bedroom. gallatin, tennessee is his hometown ... & it's full of sweet memories from his childhood. the picture is a nice reminder of who he is and where he comes from.

we decided a few months back that it would be really special if we had a a picture of where i came from as well. but i'm a transplant to nashville, and before that i was a transplant to petersburg, illinois. (i love my parents home and in all honesty - i'm sure i could find a BEAUTIFUL picture of petersburg from long ago. it's a very historical town. but it's not really home.)

so i decided to go in search of a picture from my grandma's hometown - martinsville, illinois.

the last time we were visiting grandma's house, we came upon the "history of martinsville, clark county, illinois illustrated - an official sanctioned sesquicentennial project." {that's a mouthful.} it was printed in 1983 at the celebration of martinsville's 150th anniversary (1833 - 1983).

we not only found the perfect picture:

... but i found out a little something about myself.

meet my great grandma ... ethel hardway:

ethel was a founding member of martinsville's busy housewives club.

50 years earlier, in june of 1932, she and a group of women gathered to meet the needs of any hard pressed family in town. those were the desperate days of the depression ... and they would spend their afternoons together making quilts, clothes, and dinners for those in need.

i love this! the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ... my mom & grandma are just like our matriarch ethel hardway. and my sisters and i are all busy busy busy bodies. (ask wade ... it's very exhausting at times.) i especially love how despite hard times all around - she gave back. such a reminder of purpose. :)

maybe we should start a new club.

speaking of ... so much to do!!! cookies to bake tonight for tomorrow's cookie swap. and 3 {craft}ernoon/christmas presents i'm wrapping up. {no pun intended. hee hee.} do you know the trouble with having a craft blog in december? everything you are making is likely a gift for someone. it makes keeping secrets really hard!

xo.