In a month, my older sister, June, will be traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of “Every Stitch A Prayer” –Congo Cloth Connection.  You can read about her trip and the purpose of it by visiting her blog postings:

“Every Stitch . . . → Read More: Women Helping Women]]>

Congo Cloth Connection Fabric; Image courtesy of June Mears Driedger

In a month, my older sister, June, will be traveling to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of “Every Stitch A Prayer” –Congo Cloth Connection.  You can read about her trip and the purpose of it by visiting her blog postings:

“Every Stitch A Prayer” Congo Cloth Connection Part One

“Every Stitch A Prayer” Congo Cloth Connection Part Two

I was praying for a way to support my sister and the women of the BOMEN Sewing Training Center and Workshop.  The answer came this morning when my sister called and asked if I could make some things for her to take to give to the women she will be visiting.  Of course I jumped at the chance!

Between this project, finishing up my academic year, some family business, and helping my mother after she has minor surgery, my posts on Modern Retro Woman will be intermittent for the next month or so.  But it is all good!

“See” you soon!

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No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

"Spring Is Motorola Portable Time!" "Coronet" magazine June 1950; Image courtesy of SaltyCotton on Flickr.com

We’ve all been there…bemoaning the lack of customer service in our modern world.

But, it is a two-way street.  Have you ever stopped to notice the lack of common courtesy . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Courtesy]]>

Courtesy is priceless yet costs nothing. ~ Unknown

National Cash Register Advertisement; Image courtesy of Salty Cotton on Flickr.com

We’ve all been there…bemoaning the lack of customer service in our modern world.

But, it is a two-way street.  Have you ever stopped to notice the lack of common courtesy geared toward those working behind the cash register?  Sure some cashiers need to upgrade their professionalism skills but, in my experience, most are working hard while having to deal with all sorts of people throughout the day.

Case in point: When I was buying groceries a few days ago, a woman in line in front of me was talking on her phone non-stop about what she had for lunch (I know because she was speaking loud enough for all to hear).  The cashier asked her a question about having a club card that was ignored.  The cashier continued with the order.  The woman got off the phone but snapped, “I heard you the first time!” at the cashier when she again asked the customer about the club card. The woman continued to be snarly with the cashier throughout the transaction.  The only thing I can figure is that she was seriously constipated because the cashier was certainly maintaining a pleasant composure despite this woman’s rudeness.

As modern retro women, let’s go against the trend of idealizing diva and b*tchy behavior.  Let’s bring courtesy back.  It won’t cost us a thing.

I’ve gone on a news fast.  Trust me, . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Conviction]]>

The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously.  ~ Samuel Butler

I’ve gone on a news fast.  Trust me, it isn’t easy because I had slipped into “news junkie” mode.  In fact, when I logged onto the computer this morning, I caught myself automatically typing in the web address of the first of many news sites across the political spectrum that I routinely visit during the day.  I decided to go on a fast because I was starting to be influenced by all of the media histrionics.  “The end times are at hand!” the headlines shout at us.  The headlines don’t say those exact words but the words they use are designed to elicit an emotion that will cause us to read the article.  Since I unhooked my television from the outside world a couple of years ago, I thought I was immune to such histrionics.  I guess I’m not.

There really are some things that should be taken seriously.  Our health is literally a life or death situation, for example.  But I’d say that 99% of the stuff that we are bombarded with every day is not as serious as we make it out to be.  We need to lighten up and get over ourselves.

As modern retro women, what kind of home environment are we creating?  One filled with joy and laughter?  Or one filled with fear?

Edison Electric Institute Ad 1963; Image courtesy of jellokitty on Flickr.com

There is an old saying, “Loose lips sink ships.”  This phrase was originated during World War . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Conversation]]>

To listen well is as powerful a means of influence as to talk well, and is as essential to all true conversation. ~ Unknown

Edison Electric Institute Ad 1963; Image courtesy of jellokitty on Flickr.com

There is an old saying, “Loose lips sink ships.”  This phrase was originated during World War II by the War Department to remind people to be careful what they talk about because they may inadvertently help the enemy.

My grandmother used to remind me that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason: We should do more listening than talking.

As modern retro women, let’s adapt the saying to “Loose lips sink friendships.”  Just because we think it, doesn’t mean we have to say it.  Listen more, talk less.  An often overlooked secret to successful relationships.

Mid-century Pan Am stewardesses seemed to exude beauty and glamor.  They traveled the world and . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Confidence]]>

No man has a right to expect others to display confidence in him if he has no confidence in himself.  ~ Roy L. Smith

Grooming Tips, Everywoman's Family Circle, c. 1957; Image courtesy of Alsis35 on Flickr.com

Mid-century Pan Am stewardesses seemed to exude beauty and glamor.  They traveled the world and met some of the most influential people in the world.  Young girls wanted to grow up and be just like them.

What was their secret?  They had confidence in themselves.

And, as we’ve learned from studying John Robert Powers’ books on mid-century beauty, self-confidence is the most mesmerizing thing in the world.

Carry yourself with confidence and others will have confidence in you.

And if you’re having a less-than confident day, just pretend you are a Pan Am stewardess and fake it until you are feeling confident again.

“Oops!  My bad.”

I’ll confess . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Confession]]>

A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.    ~ Alexander Pope

Hanes hosier advertisement, Life Magazine, September 14, 1959; Image courtesy of Jon Williamson on Flickr.com

“Oops!  My bad.”

I’ll confess that that phrase drives me crazy.  It is just as bad as the “non-apology apology” that seems to be prevalent within our society these days.  You know how a non-apology apology works: IF I’ve done anything…  There’s no ownership of wrongdoing in that type of apology.

I’ve noticed that a lot of non-apologies are taking the form of “I meant it as a joke” kind of excuse.

And that’s what they are.  Excuses.  Lots of blaming and non-apologizing for bad behavior.

There was a time, not so very long ago, when people would actually take responsibility for their actions.  If they screwed up, they took ownership of it and learned from their mistake.

We’re all going to make mistakes in this thing called life. We’re going to inadvertently hurt or offend someone we care about and, sometimes, people we don’t even know.  Taking responsibility and asking for forgiveness is the first step in healing and learning from our error so that we (hopefully) won’t do it again.

Inscription on back: Sister Act. Gladys thought it was a grand . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Sisters]]>

“For when [four] sisters love each other with such sincere affection, the one does not experience sorrow, pain, or affliction of any kind, but the other’s heart wishes to relieve, and vibrates in tenderness… like a well-organized musical instrument.” ~ Elizabeth Shaw

Inscription on back: Sister Act. Gladys thought it was a grand idea. Of course it was Gladys behind the camera; Found photo courtesy of Anyjazz65 on Flickr.com

“The Mears Sisters” will all be together this weekend.  Our oldest sister will be arriving this morning for her annual long weekend to get away from the land of never ending winters and remember what Southern California sunshine feels like.

When we were young, I wanted to be just like our oldest sister.  What kid doesn’t?  I was in awe of how she seemed to effortlessly navigate through life.

Of course, I later learned that she went through all of the typical struggles and that it wasn’t so effortless after all.  By then I had realized that I needed to be my own person and forge my own path in life.

In fact, all four of us girls (and our brother, too) took very different paths in life.  People often comment that we have a very interesting family because we are all so different from each other.

And that is the same way it is with being an “ideal” or “perfect” homemaker.  There is no such thing as “the” ideal 1950s homemaker.

As I’ve spoken with women who were mid-century homemakers, it quickly becomes evident that each woman put her own spin on how to make a house a home while also maintaining her own identity.

The common denominator seems to be that being a homemaker–whether she stayed at home full time or were like my grandmothers and also worked outside the home–was an expression of love for her family.

And my favorite part of a Mears Sisters weekend is basking in the love we have for each other.*

*It won’t be all gushy love…there will be plenty of good natured tormenting going on, too!

On the same team – Enlist in the WAVES ("Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service"). Apply to your nearest Navy Recruiting Station or Office of Naval Procurement. Head-and-shoulders . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: Conduct]]>

Every human being has a right to be respected as a human being unless he forfeits that right by his own conduct. ~ Manly Hall

On the same team – Enlist in the WAVES ("Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service"). Apply to your nearest Navy Recruiting Station or Office of Naval Procurement. Head-and-shoulders portrait of Wave and sailors. Recruitment poster by John Philip Falter, US Naval Reserve (USNR), 1943; From the Artist Posters Collection at the Library of Congress

 The mid-20th century wasn’t perfect.  Not by a long shot.  Racism and sexism were rampant and the struggle for equal rights was often quite violent.

But there was also a sense of shared purpose that led to the greatest economic expansion that this country had ever experienced.  The ranks of the middle class and those achieving “the American Dream” exploded.

I don’t know about you but I’ve grown quite weary of the infighting and toxic environment that encourages Americans to disrespect each other.  We don’t view each other as friends with different opinions or ideas on how to achieve our common goals but rather as enemies that need to be destroyed…at any cost.

We talk at and about each other instead of with each other to find common ground.

As modern retro women, let’s raise the conduct standards.  Let’s be role models for how engaging in respectful conversation helps us overcome our differences, enables us to find common ground, and will help us move forward as a country again.

1954 Kodak Brownie Hawkeye advertisement; Image courtesy of TWM 1340

What was once thought impossible has come to pass.  Kodak, the company that enabled us to chronicle our lives on . . . → Read More: Wise Words of the Day: The Power of Customers]]>

It is the customer and the customer alone who casts the vote that determines how big any company should be. ~ Crawford Greenwalt

1954 Kodak Brownie Hawkeye advertisement; Image courtesy of TWM 1340

What was once thought impossible has come to pass.  Kodak, the company that enabled us to chronicle our lives on Kodachrome, has declared bankruptcy due to digital photography.  The irony is that Kodak is the company that invented digital photography but their upper management decided to take the company in another direction.

And the customers responded by not going in the other direction with them.  Instead, their former customers eagerly bought what Kodak had abandoned: digital cameras.

Customers have more power than we think we do.  Kodak isn’t the only venerable company that is struggling.  Sears is in crisis control mode trying to keep itself from going under, too.  Customers have stopped shopping there for many reasons.

The Mister and I have discussed the fact that we aren’t called “customers” anymore.  Somewhere along the way, customers became consumers.  It is kind of hard to engage in “customer service” when the people forking over their hard earned money are just considered a consumer statistic.  Companies started outsourcing their “consumer relations” staffing overseas.

And, it took a while, but customers have started rebelling against not getting customer service satisfaction by taking their business elsewhere.

More and more customers are demanding quality and American made products (not an easy thing to do anymore but the 10-year trend of cruddy stuff made overseas is slowly starting to turn around).

Last fall, the lead teller at Big Name Bank where we had our business accounts loudly accused me of attacking her when I dared to disagree with her that she couldn’t do a transaction a certain way.  After all checks and debits that I had already written cleared and I had opened a business account at our credit union, we went to a different branch of Big Name Bank that we also frequented and closed the accounts.  When the assistant manager asked why we wanted to give up the convenience (because it really was more convenient to do our business banking with Big Name Bank), I told her what happened.  She was horrified when I told her.  She asked if I had spoken to the manager and I told her that I had been too stunned to do so.  She confirmed that the type of transaction I requested was a normal and routine one and she didn’t understand why the lead teller refused to do it.  She asked if there was anything she could do to keep my business.  I explained that I was very uncomfortable with the way the bank in general had begun to treat their customers and that this outburst by the teller was the last straw.

As we were leaving the bank, we overheard the assistant manager speaking with the manager of the other branch over the phone and letting him know that they had lost a business customer because of how I was treated by a teller.

I am not a consumer.  I am a customer.  As modern retro women, let’s start expecting to be treated like the valued customers that we are.  If we have a grievance, we don’t need to have a hissy fit (that is sooooooo beneath us…especially since we know that the customer isn’t always right) but we do need to calmly tell management that we will take our business elsewhere if the issue isn’t resolved satisfactorily.

Are you willing to become a customer instead of a consumer again?