Mother’s Day, A Farmbasket Favorite

Thursday 04/29/10


As we’ve been getting farmbasket ready for this special day, we pondered this question: how did Mother’s Day get on the official calendar? The answer, Anna Marie Jarvis.

Anna Jarvis, it turns out, was raised in Grafton, WVA, and she graduated from what is now Mary Baldwin College in 1883. On May 12, 1907, two years after her mother’s death and a personal memorial held in her honor, Anna Jarvis embarked on a campaign to make “Mother’s Day” a recognized holiday. She succeeded in 1914. As time passed, she became soured by the commercialization of the holiday, in particular the fact that people would celebrate it by merely sending their mother a printed card or delivering a box of chocolates. Anna Jarvis, the mother of Mother’s Day, never married and had no children.

We agree with Anna that cards and even gifts are gestures. So, this year consider a handwritten note and something Mom will use and enjoy. Some of our favorites include our Gardener’s Hat, Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Hand Therapy, and Season’s to Taste Cookbook, recipes from Lynchburg native, Laurie Stovall Babcock, compiled in her memory by her sister.

Here’s to you, Mom!