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weekender may 1 1993 p17 mothers day observance dates back to 1908 we all have mothers which makes mothers as universal as the air we breathe but it took ms anna reeves jarvis a philadelphia school teacher to come up with the idea of the modern mothers day as a celebration to mark the universality of mothering thats how it is now but heres how it was ms jarvis and her family came from rural west virginia at the turn of the 20th century the family migrated to philadelphia it was there that the thought of a universal mothers day came to her first expressed to a group of friends in 1907 so persuasive was her concept so diligent was her dedication that by 1908 she marshaled the support to cany out the first observance of mothers day in may 1908 back in her familiar sur roundings of grafton west virginia it was a simple sermon in a rural church which is still standing and now revered as a historical link to an idea whose time had come that was proved by the proclamation of mothers day as a state holiday just two years later by then g overnor william glassman and behold just three years later congress proclaimed that mothers day should henceforth be a national holiday marked by a presi dential proclamation the first was issued by president woodrow wilson in 1914 but the first mothers day required the interest and support of civic organiza tions in philadelphia and the persuasive ness of john wanamaker a philadelphia department store magnate to jumpstart the observance his interest and support galvanized other local influentials and so it was that mothers day dawned on the world in may 1908 today some 85 years after its founding mothers day observance is universal through the united states celebrated by 95 per cent of all people old enough to cele brate canada and more than 100 coun tries around the world the task of stepmothering takes wisdom and patience the role of the stepmother is not exactly an easy one but its one that more and more women will be grappling with some because theyve been widowed many because they have suffered through the agonies of divorce some never wed before but newly married to a man with children from a previous marriage sociologists tell us that no less than half of the children today will at some point in their lives reside in a family where at least one of the partners is not a birth par ent and the high incidence of divorce is not abating its often difficult for the new stepmother to win die confidence of her new brood they resent the disruptions in their young lives and must get accustomed to a new authority figure the problem may be even further compounded if offspring from two previous marriages are mixed before matching then the task is to mold two different upbringings into one that brings two separate worlds into sync the transition takes wisdom empathy patience and good will on everyones part hut in view of the growing pervasiveness of the phenomenon its good to be alert and ready for the complex implications that can have a profound effect on a whole generation and generations to come mothers day saturday may 8 only visit our display in centre court and receive a free pewter pot pourri jar just present shopping receipts equalling 50 or more from any of markvilles stores and services dated may 8th and receive your free gift limit one per person quantities are limited when it comes to my family markville fits us perfectly l eatons sears the bay woolco miracle ultramart plus 220 stores services and famous players theatres mondayfriday 1000 am 900 pm saturday 930 am 600 pm sunday noon 500 pm for more information call 416 4776600 ii shopping centre intersection of highway 7 mccowan ppa v