My Mom was a volunteer. It was a way of life for her. I suppose it came from being raised during World War II. As early as I can remember, she was involved in some community activity. My earliest memory was her service in the Ground Observer Corps at Dress Memorial Airport in Evansville , Indiana where we lived.
The program was administered by the Army Air Force during the war and in 1952 recruited 800,000 volunteers across the country to man watch towers to scan the sky for enemy aircraft approaching. Radar was still in it’s infancy and had holes in its coverage. So my mom would don her steel helmet, hang her binoculars around her neck, a couple of nights a week, and Dad would drive her to the airport to spend the night. This went on for a few years even though my little brother and I were quite young. It was kind of weird cool to explain to the neighbor kids what Mom’s helmet in the coat closet was used for. The program was disbanded in the late 50’s and by that time there were already three small children in the house.
One would assume that would have slowed down her volunteering somewhat. This was not the case, she immediately became a Cub Scout Den Mother and very active in our church. It is appropriate to remember the daily obligations of a Mother and Housewife with three children in the late 50’s and early 60’s. For one thing most meals were made from scratch. Which generally meant that when one meal was over and the dishes were washed and dried (no dishwashers), it was often time to start the next meal. This was at a time when most meals were at least three course affairs, plus bread and dessert. Clothes were always in need of repair with three small boys. Not to mention the washing of those clothes and then hanging them on a clothes line in the back yard to dry. This is just to mention some of the chores that were so time consuming.
Volunteering however, was in Mom’s blood. Over the years despite raising five children, she managed to be involved with or Chairwomen of, over 15 different volunteer civic organizations. She also held several volunteer positions in our church. For several summers she taught English to migrant workers children in the camps south of the city. In her obituary there 14 lines dedicated to just her volunteer activities alone, and we missed a few.
What happened to Volunteering? Did we become so self absorbed when Television took over our life that living became Me, not We? It seems that once our homes became air-conditioned and we stopped neighboring on our front porches, community responsibility became obsolete. It didn’t happen all at once, it was a slow deterioration.
Multiple vehicles gave us the opportunity to split the families directions and fast food restaurants helped us perpetuate that life style. When you leave early in the morning and do not arrive home until late in the evening its easy to be oblivious to the neighborhood in which you live. Over the years we have calloused our feeling of responsibility for our own neighborhoods. It seems to me that volunteering for civic responsibility is one way to reverse the course. It may not be the most glamorous duty but it’s probably the most needed. One thing is for sure, it would reconnect us with our neighbors. Generally, the reason most often given for not volunteering is, “I don’t have time”.
If that is the roadblock to your participation, I would invite you to read my Mom’s obituary and get back to me with that excuse.