Hidden History: Co-founder of Mother's Day was a Raleigh mother
As Raleighites rush to buy cards and sentimental gifts for their mothers this Sunday, many have no idea the original co-founder of Mother's Day rests right here in Raleigh, after living and raising children here for years.
Another Mother's Day fact many people don't know: The co-founder was very unhappy with how commercial the holiday became by the end of her life.
Madeline Jane Jones Procter, born in 1894, helped establish Mother's Day in 1914 and passed away in 1975--watching generations of cultural shifts alter her original vision of Mother's Day beyond recognition.
Two dynamic women fought to create a national day for mothers
Procter was half of a dynamic duo, teaming up with Anna Jarvis in the fight to create a holiday worthy of hard working mothers. Procter was only a teenager when she met Jarvis in 1909. By that time, Jarvis had already been working on the concept of Mother's Day for about a year--in honor of her own mother, who she had recently lost.
The pair met while working in Philadelphia. According to the book Historic Oakwood Cemetery, Procter and Jarvis "wrote letters and distributed carnations as part of their nationwide campaign."
“We told people to wear a red carnation if their mother was living and a white one if she was not,” Mrs. Procter recalled during a 1974 interview. “And we asked them to write a letter to their mothers.”
Their chief goal was for everyone to write his or her mother for Mother’s Day and to wear a carnation.
By 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed official legislation to make Mother's Day a nationally recognized holiday.
The commercialization of Mother's Day
Jarvis' and Procter's original vision for Mother's Day was simple:
Take a few moments each year, think of what your mother really means to you, and write a handwritten, heartfelt letter or poem to her, describing your appreciation.
However, this original vision was distorted and commercialized as decades and generations rolled by, the popularity of Mother's Day taking off enough for companies to see money-making opportunities.
Procter and Jarvis watched the holiday they'd fought so hard for become commercialized with expectations of flowers, dinners and store-bought cards.
Even the duo's first Mother's Day symbol--the carnation--was distorted, as florists began raising the price on white carnations each Mother's Day. By 1922, according to a timeline on Today, Jarvis endorsed boycotting florists.
Procter, while not as openly rebellious as Jarvis, continued to stand up for the power and meaning behind writing a simple, heartfelt letter to your mother.
In an opinion piece for the Boston Globe, one of Procter's granddaughters wrote, "My grandmother, Madeline Jones Procter, who worked with Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother’s Day in 1914, once told me that one Mother’s Day morning, Jarvis ordered a 'Mother’s Day breakfast' at a local diner in Philadelphia. As soon as it arrived, she picked up her entire breakfast plate, turned it over, and walked out of the restaurant."
While living in Raleigh, Procter was said to have very firm ideas about how her children should celebrate Mother's day. She didn't want gifts or fancy cards. She didn't want them to spend any money at all.
She believed a heartfelt note was all a mother needed on this special day.
Co-founder of Mother's Day rests in Historic Oakwood Cemetery
Procter's grave in Historic Oakwood Cemetery serves as a local, permanent reminder for Raleighites about the true meaning of Mother's Day.
She moved to Raleigh after marrying Ivan Procter. She became a mother to four children and many grandchildren and has been remembered as a loving and family-oriented mother.
Jarvis never had children of her own. Tragically, she became more and more bitter about how commercial her holiday had become, and many historians report that she did not live a happy life.
Procter, however, was remembered fondly by her family and community. Her children are also remembered as local community leaders who have made an impact on the city.
"Mrs. Procter's son was the principal at Aycock Jr. High School, now called Enloe East Campus," said Anitra Stone, a local who attended Aycock and remembered when Procter passed away.
Now, her family continues her legacy.
Historic Oakwood Cemetery held an event called Mother's Day Tea, where one of Procter's daughters came to speak to guests about the origins of Mother's Day, her own mother's role in the holiday and her memories of her own beloved mother.
Procter believed in the power and love of a simple, heartfelt note on Mother's Day. When she passed away, four days before Mother's Day in 1975, her children had the simple words 'She Blessed Us' inscribed on her grave--a permanent heartfelt note, engraved in stone, for their beloved mother.
If you love Hidden History of Raleigh and North Carolina, please email hleah@wral.com with any ideas you have for stories about local history.
Did you know Raleigh's street names have clues to hidden history in our city? Millbrook Road points to an original mill, Six Forks Road really did have six forks and there are mines beneath Lead Mine Road.
We just explored the remains of the abandoned old Highway 98, running through the woods out by Falls Lake, a reminder of the old farms and mills that once made up the community now buried beneath the lake's surface.
