{"id":10445,"date":"2015-05-06T11:44:31","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T15:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=10445"},"modified":"2022-05-02T14:06:29","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T18:06:29","slug":"mother-of-the-year-awards-in-the-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/mother-of-the-year-awards-in-the-news.html","title":{"rendered":"Mother of the Year Awards in the News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers to learn about various \u201cMother of the Year\u201d awards throughout the country. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.<\/span>\u201d
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Did you ever read about some sort of honor or award in the newspaper and wonder what it was all about? With Mother\u2019s Day fast approaching I remembered that \u201cMother of the Year\u201d is one award that I have often seen in various news articles describing numerous women. But what does the title Mother of the Year mean? Some research in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> reveals interesting facts and stories about this family honor.<\/p>\n

The Genesis of American Mother of the Year<\/strong><\/p>\n

While many different groups have named mothers to this lofty title, there is one group that is in charge of the official American Mother of the Year award. The Golden Rule Foundation, founded by retailer James Cash Penney (JCPenney stores), started the American Mothers Committee. According to the American Mothers<\/span> website:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of a Mothers Committee began in 1933 when America was in the middle of a Great Depression, and women were taking on many roles in society in order to make ends meet for their families. Businessman J.C. Penney enlisted four prominent New Yorkers, including famous clergyman and author Norman Vincent Peale, to form a committee under his Golden Rule Foundation called the American Mothers Committee. He believed mothers were key to the family and by honoring them the entire nation would be strengthened.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first Mother of the Year award, initially called the Typical American Mother, was presented in 1935 by Honorary Chairwoman Sara Delano Roosevelt (mother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt) to Lucy Keen Johnson (Mrs. Fletcher Johnson), formerly of Georgia. Of the award, Mrs. Johnson said she accepted it \u201cnot for myself alone but for millions of American mothers who are making our land a great nation.\u201d Mrs. Johnson was the mother of six children and grandmother to 14.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 13 May 1935, page 10<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Making the Grade as the Best Mom<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what qualifications must a Mother of the Year have? Well this article from a 1949 Texas newspaper explains how one can be nominated for the Texas Mother of the Year. The winner of that honor would then compete with other state mothers for the national title awarded by the Golden Rule Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 16 January 1949, section 3, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to this old newspaper article, an individual or a group could nominate a mother who had the following four qualifications:<\/p>\n