American Association for Women in Community Colleges

Salute to Strong Women
Mildred Barry

My mother was a strong woman in my life. She was a stay-at-home mom that loved to cook and sew and made almost all our clothes. She often bought scrap fabric and buttons from the Eli Walker Factory that was here in town. The scraps were the left over pieces, all odd shapes and sizes, which were left from cutting out the clothing that was made there.

Because of the odd shapes, mom would have to be very creative in making the pieces work. As a child I loved to watch her lay out the pattern pieces for cutting out garment and seeing how she creatively moved them around to make them fit most effectively—almost like a jig jaw puzzle!

I have brought one of those dresses she created from a picture in a catalog and made from those scraps. This particular dress was made for me when I was around 3-5 yrs old. I also have a picture of another dress that was very elaborate, but mom did not keep it.

My mom’s creativity and determination definitely had a huge influence on me. I became a successful self-employed seamstress and later worked at Bergner’s for 13 years doing alterations. In 1997 I had to have surgery to fuse the lower joint in my thumb because of arthritis and wear and tear to that joint. The doctor told me I would NOT be able to continue to sew or crochet, which had become my favorite hobby. I came to JWCC to “retrain” for a new career and a new chapter in my life, but never gave up hope to be able to crochet again.

In late 1996 I had started a rose doily for my daughter and had it half way finished when I had the surgery in 1997. About a year later I decided to TRY and finish the doily, remembering that the Doctor said I would not be able to crochet anymore. It was an absolute miracle that I was able to finish it and not change the look or size of that doily!!

Crocheting had always been my tension relieving activity and not being able to do that left a huge hole in my life. I enjoyed the creativity and the intricate designs I was able to create. I made several elaborate doilies for showers and wedding presents. (Two of those doilies were even fought over when the couple divorced.)

Being able to crochet again has been a sheer joy for me. And if it wasn’t for my mother’s strong personality and influence, I am not sure I would have been so determined myself to show the doctor he was wrong! (I made and gave him a small doily as proof).

To help celebrate my success, I have made a small doily to be used as a gift in the Online History Contest about women associated with Illinois.