Hi, All,
You didn't think I'd leave you blogless, did you? You're saved! Tiz is talking again.
I am still beaming from Mom's 100th birthday celebration. It was quite sensational and memorable. Coadys, Bridwells, and friends galore gathered to celebrate the remarkable woman who is my mother. She was a perfect lady in her gold suit with matching gold shoes. Her sister Wish would have approved. The mayor gave her the key to the city and declared the day "Catherine Bridwell Day." It was a day we will all remember. Thanks to all of you who were there and to those of you who sent cards and flowers. Mary and I have had fun reading the cards to to her.
I've also been thinking of all the reasons it's bad to have your mother turn 100. First of all, whenever I tell people that my mother is 100, they immediately do what I would do. They do the math and assume I'm about 80. While there are days I could pass for 80, most days I don't look a day over 75. Secondly, my mother gets way more attention than I do. What's the big deal? Why does she get cards from famous people like the president and Willard Scott, who chose NOT to feature her on a Smuckers jar?? Furthermore, at 100, she has the perfect excuse not to do anything for me anymore. Why, I haven't had any of her fudge or even a pork chop fried in an ancient iron skillet and browned to perfection in quite some time. Well, enough about me....
I'm reprinting the article that appeared in the Paris Beacon last week. It's not available on line:
Catherine Bridwell Turns 100
Submitted by Elizabeth Bridwell O’Connell
On November 16, 1910, Catherine Coady was born at 509 Marshall Street in Paris, IL. Nearly one hundred years later, she’s still there. Catherine, also known as “Kak” and” Katie”, has seen Paris change dramatically in her lifetime. She recalls sitting on her porch on Marshall Street each May and watching bumper- to-bumper cars from Chicago drive by on their way to the Kentucky Derby. She remembers the bustle of downtown Paris on Saturday nights when the farmers would come into town and line up outside the barbershops to get haircuts and shaves. Catherine enjoyed people-watching on the square. She and her friends went to the movie each week. Admission was ten cents, and a man named Pearl Clouse played the organ to accompany the silent movies. Paris had a trolley car called the Interurban which ran from south of town to Twin Lakes and also to Terre Haute.
At home Monday was wash day. Catherine’s mother brought water into the kitchen from an outdoor pump, boiled the water in large pots, and scrubbed the family of nine’s clothing with a bar of Fels Naptha soap on a washboard. Her mother prepared a full noontime meal which often included roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and homemade pie. On Sundays, her father would buy a leg of lamb.
Kak graduated from Paris High School in 1928, the year of the first May Fete, a Paris tradition that continues today. She has attended all but the past two May Fetes. Catherine’s high school English teacher was Carolyn Wenz, who also served as principal of PHS. When a school problem arose, Miss Wenz would leave the class alone and return when the problem was solved. Catherine doesn’t remember anyone acting up while the teacher was gone.
After high school, Catherine stayed home and kept house for her father and siblings. Later she got a job at Mary Van Houtin’s Dress Shop on East Court. She enjoyed helping customers and meeting new people.
From her 20s into her 90s, Kak belonged to bridge club. Midge Mercer. one of her bridge partners, introduced her to her cousin, Vic Bridwell, who was had just returned from World War II. Vic was visiting Paris on his way to San Diego where he planned to open a business. However, he found himself drawn back to Paris, Illinois, a town he ultimately came to love and consider the best place anyone could possibly live. He and Katie were married in 1947. Vic and his brother Ken opened Bridwell’s Grocery Store which they and, eventually, their sons ran until the mid 1990s. Catherine and Vic had five children: Bob, Tom, Mary Ann (Magers), Elizabeth (O’Connell), and John, who died in infancy. Catherine has eleven grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren, all under the age of 5. Catherine has continued her tradition of cooking a big meal at noon each day . Even today, you can find pork chops and mashed potatoes on the weekday lunch menu at the Bridwell house and a family member or two in attendance.
Catherine has been blessed with good health and a long life. While she doesn’t offer tips for living to be 100, those who know her have learned much from her example. Her Catholic faith has sustained her through life’s joys and hardships. Her interest in others and the world around her has kept her young. She has a positive attitude, doesn’t complain, and is willing to go anywhere at any time. Last year she and her daughter Mary Ann traveled to Ireland . They stayed with Kak’s daughter Tizzie (aka “Elizabeth”) and her husband Bob. The apartment elevator was broken for the first three days of the visit, but Kak valiantly walked up and down the fifty-seven steps several times a day without complaint. While there, she visited her mother’s hometown of Kenmare, County Kerry.
Her children are hosting an open house to celebrate Catherine’s birthday on Sunday, Nov. 21 from 1:00 – 4:00 at St. Mary’s Parish Hall. All family and friends are invited. There will be a short program at 2:00 PM. No gifts please.
MOUSE ALERT!!! I have been remiss in reminding you to set your mousetraps. As a result, a veritable rodent army has been assaulting Tim and Megan. The mouse count is 11 so far with Bob advising Tim to sit outside one night when "he doesn't have anything better to do" (what could be more important than protecting his fair damsel Megan from a fainting spell?) and catch the fiends in the act of unlawful entry into the garage. So, you Thanksgiving slackers, if you do nothing but raise a drumstick to your slobbery lips today, please also remember to set your mousetraps!
Happy Thanksgiving, you turkeys!
Still insulting and revolting,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth
