One Woman's Century: The Remarkable Story of Angela Marsh Peterson (1902-2000) PDF
Preview One Woman's Century: The Remarkable Story of Angela Marsh Peterson (1902-2000)
o~e WO~~~'$ ce~tVLv • • TV1e ReVVlC1 rR,C1 bLe stortJ of AV'vgeLC1 MC1rsV1 PetersoV'v (~02-2000) KSVl NJ. TODSSCHl Parkway Publishers, Inc. Boone, North Carolina Copyright © 2005 by Kevin Todeschi All Rights Reserved available from: Parkway Publishers, Inc. P. O. Box 3678 Boone, NC 28607 www.parkwaypublishers.com Tel/Fax: 828-265-3993 Library o/Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Peterson,AngelaMarsh, 1902-2000. Onewoman's century: theremarkable storyofAngelaMarsh Peterson, 1902-2000/ [editedby] KevinJ. Todeschi. p. cm. ISBN 1-887905-38-3 1. Peterson,AngelaMarsh, 1902-2000.2.Teachers-United States-Biography. 3. Businesswomen-UnitedStates-Biography. 4. UnitedStates.Army ServiceForces. SpecialService Division.-Biography. 5. HighPoint(N.C.)-Biography. I. Todeschi, KevinJ. II. Title. CT275.P5847A32004 973.91'092-dc22 2004016577 CoverDesign byAaronBurleson Editing, layoutandbookdesign byJulie Shissler AngelaMarshPeterson(1902-2000)wasanextraordinaryindividualwhoencountered nearlyeveryexperienceavailabletoatwentiethcenturywoman:marriage,motherhood,divorce, thedeathofachild,beingabusinesswoman,teachingschool.ShewatchedHaley'scometwith hermotherin1910andheardaboutthetragedyoftheTitanic.SheexperiencedtheDepression andbothWorldWars.Thedaughterofastatesenator,shewouldgrowtosurviverape,anervous breakdown, and acrippling illness. In time she would serve in the military, organize atravel company, createoneofthefirstseniorcitizen centersin thecountry, andfound amuseum. Her acts of helping others began as achild when she organized afundraiser for the Red Cross during World War I.As ayoung woman and teacher, she began the firstfree lunch programforunderprivilegedchildren inthestateofWestVirginia. Shealsoworkedfora semesterteaching theblind. AfteradivorceandWorldWarII,shebattledagediscriminationatforty-sixtobecome aCaptain in theArmy's Special Services division and serve as overseas Recreation Director in Korea. Shewould laterservein asimilarcapacityatmilitaryinstallationsin bothTexasand Turkey.Afterherstintinthearmy,shewouldbecomeabusinesswoman,tourleaderandtravel companyownerinTurkeyinthe1960s.Whilethere,shewroteamonthlycolumnonTurkishsites andhistory.LatershewouldbecomeDeanofFreshmenMenatOhioWesleyanUniversity-where shemanaged meetingsandconventionsduringthesummersession. Inherseventiessheonceagaintaughtschoolandgavepubliclectures.Throughout her life she was involved in theatre and the arts, and adoll collection that would expand to becomeamuseum, which shefounded attheageofeighty. Although herexploitsand herlife'sactivitieswereoften chronicled in thepaper, she diedimpoverishedandcrippledinanursinghome, retainingonlythefacultiesofhermind.She used the time to recount her long life, her many occupations, her doll collection, her varied psychicexperiences, andthepeoplethathad been importantin herlife. ThisisAngela's remarkablelifestory. Lv Dianainherarmorbright,hadnotyourcouragedear ProserpinainPluto'snight,lackedyourboundlesscheer Aphrodite'sbeautywasapalestartoyourbrilliantsun AndVenus'form comparedtoyours waslikeelephanttofawn... Sogotobed, andrestmypetandIprayyourdreams includeme ForhowI wishI wasclosedinyourarmsinsteadofwhereI nowbe. from Gordon, oneofAngela'ssuitors whilehewason theroad in South Carolina v For over four-and-a-halfyears Angela Marsh Peterson was a central part ofmy life. We came together essentially because I was interested in writing and she was interested in telling her story-a story that had encountered several aborted attempts formorethanadecade. We decidedtoworktogetherontheproject.Angela suppliedmewiththenarrative, aswellas awealthofpictures, letters, anecdotes, and memorabilia. Althoughshewasaloneandcrippledinanursinghome,upuntilthelastthree months ofherlifehermindremainedclearandshepossessedaremarkablememory. FrequentlyIhadthe opportunitytohearAngelatellastory from herpastandwould later come across atape recording from more thantenyears before that containeda nearlyperfectword-for-wordnarrativeofthe sameincidentshehadrelatedtome. InadditiontoAngela's variedexperiences andthemanynewspaperarticles chroniclingher life's events,Angela's archives includedliterallyhundreds ofletters writtenbyher, herex-husbandFred, andhersisterHelen. Forthatreason, Idecided tointersperseAngela'spresent-daynarrativewithlettersandnewspaperarticlesfrom thepast. Usingverbatimextractsfromthelettersandthenewspaperclippingshadnot beenpartofAngela's intentandshehadnotevenlookedatthesethings for decades. Irememberinparticularoneloveletterthatherthen-husbandFredhadwrittentoher on October 5, 1925 that is included inPart II. While reading a draft ofthat section, Angelawastrulytakenby surprisewhenshe sawFred'swords frommorethansixty years before. Shewas shockedbyhowthe letterhadaffectedherinthe present, and askedme to take itout ofthe book. Ichallengedher, notingthatFredhad savedher letterstohim,justasshehadsavedmanyofhistoher,"Perhapsthesethingshavebeen savedalltheseyearsforareason."Angelarelentedandtheletterstayed.Angela'ssister, Helen,hadalsosavedmanyofherletters,recountingAngela'stravelswhileoverseas. AfterbothFredandHelenhaddied,theletterswerereturnedtoAngela.Manyofthese lettersbecameaninvaluablepartofchroniclingAngela's story. s EarlyonIdecidedtodivideOneWoman Centuryintothefivemajorpartsof Angela'slife. Oneofouronlyarguments camewhenIinsistedthatweneededtoend her storywithPartV, chroniclingher experiences withthe museum andthe nursing home.Angelawantedto endthe book eitherafterherexperiences inTurkey orwith themuseum,"Itoldyou, Idon'twanttodwellmuchonthenursinghome.Whycan't weendthebookrightafterTurkey?There'snothingexcitingaboutthedailyeventsin anursinghome.Nobodywantstoreadaboutanoldwomandyinginanursinghome!" ButIinsisted. Beforeherdeath, shemanagedtoreadthefirst draftofallbutperhaps the lasttwentypages ofthemanuscript. Angelawas aproudwoman andrefusedto show any signs ofweakness or talk about any regrets. However, in hernearly one hundredyears, she didhave one regretthatbotheredherformuchofherlife.Anervousbreakdownhadresultedafter alonghealthproblemandbeingraped-aneventthatshehadnevertoldanyone. That breakdown caused her to leave her two young children in the care ofher husband. Becauseofherownproblems,sheessentiallyabandonedthememotionally. Sheoften mentionedthe impactof thewhole situation, especiallyonherson, Eric. KevLVvJ. TodesGV1L Yearslater,whenshejourneyedandlivedoverseastoworkfirstintheSpecial Services andthenlateras atravelagentandtourguide, the distancebetweenherself andherchildrenwidenedfurther. Hersononcetoldher,"Mom,youpaidquiteaprice foryouryearsaway."Angelatoldmethatsheagreed.Heronlyregretwasthatshefelt shehadfailed as amotherandthatshehadalienatedEric. During the time we were together,Angela and I grew very close. Itriedto callhertwiceaweekandItookthefive-and-a-half-hourdrivetoseehereverycouple ofmonths. Every SundayandWednesdaynightwhenIwouldcall,Angelawouldbe sittinginherbedwiththephoneonherlap,waitingforittoring. Irememberfeeling especiallyguiltythe twotimes Iforgot to callher(eventhoughI calledherthe very next day), for I imagined seeing her sitting there waiting, and waiting, all alone in herroom. Shetoldmethatshelookedforwardtomyvisitsandmyphonecalls,"More than anything."Although Iwas more thanfifty years youngerthan she was, intime Angelajokedwithherfriends thatIwasher"boyfriend." The lasttime I everspokewithher, she toldme, "I do loveyou, honey. Be agoodboy," andthenshetoldmegoodnight. ItoldherIlovedhertoo andIhungup the phone. Iwish Ihadknownthenthat itwouldbe the last conversationwe would everhave. Afew days afterherdeath, the localpapercarriedafront-page article about thewomanIhadcometoknow. Itwouldbeoneofliterallyhundredsofarticlesabout herlife's experiences. Excerpt,HighPointEnterprise; Tuesday, September 19,2000: WomanCapturedMagicinMiniature Angela Peterson created afantasyworldwith dollsfrom hermanytravels. She said the dolls recreated the magic oferas long past and spoke truths their creatorscouldnolongershare. Shewas91whenshedonatedhercollectionofmorethan1,000dollstocreate theAngelaPetersonDoll&MiniatureMuseum. PetersondiedFridayatage98. BorninParkersburg,WestVirginia, Petersonledanomadiclifeofexploring anddollcollecting. "Shewasstrong-willed, andthathelpedhertodoalotofthemoreunusual thingsshedidin herlife,"said Peterson'sgranddaughter, Karen. "Shedidalotof thingsthatweren'tthenormorexpectedforwomen bornin1902." Peterson's adventurouscareerand passion forcollecting dolls blossomed relativelylateinlife.Shehadbeenahousewifeandmotheruntilshedivorced. Shewasinherlate40swhenshebecamearecreationdirectorfortheU.S. ArmedForces.ShewasstationedinWaco,Texas,andKoreauntilthewarescalated. In 1952,shewenttoFortWorth. Afterthat, shespentseveralyearsasadeanof freshmenatOhioWesleyan University. In 1960,sheleftforasix-month vacation in Europeandwound upstaying inTurkeyfornearlytenyears...Inall,Petersonlivedineightstatesandshevisited 44countries. "She was anomad. She just loved to roam," [daughter-in-law] Neville Petersonsaid. oV\.,e WOVvU:iV\.,'s, CeV\.,b,{ytj Nooneknowsexactlywhyshewassofascinatedbydollsanddriventofind avenuetodisplaythemallfortheworldtosee. Shereceivedwhatwould bethefirstdollofhercollectionwhen shewas6 yearsold.Thedoll, Rosie, disappearedeachThanksgivingand reappeared each Christmaswithadifferentwigandoutfit. "I think that sparked her love of dolls and made herwant to craft these wonderfuloutfits,"saidSusanMyers,directorofthemuseum.Today,Rosiehasan extensivewardrobe,andPetersoncraftedelaborateminiaturedisplaysshowcased atthemuseum. Hermostprizedpossession isalargenativityscenewithdollsfromaround theworld. "Theyareawonderful documentofthelives,dress,customsofthe Middle AgesandtheRenaissance.Wecancreateonlyfromwhatweknow,andEuropeans knewnothingofPalestineorearliereras.DollsrepresentingthetimeofChristwere dressed and housed astheirmakerswere," Peterson wrote in an introduction to thecollection. Thenativityscenetookher34yearstocomplete.Themostdifficultcomponent toacquirewasthebabyJesus.PetersonsaidthatshopkeepersinItalywerereluctant to sell hermany members ofthe nativity, but nonewanted to sell herthe infant because"onlyJudastookmoneyforJesus." Eventually,ashopownergaveherababyJesusdolltostophercrying. "Later,shetoldGarySmithwheretoputeachandeverydollandsaidnever tomovethem,"CharlotteYoung,directoroftheHighPointConventionandVisitor's Bureau,saidofherpredecessor. Smith,nowinLongBeach,California,said,"Shewantedeveryonetoshare whatshehadfeltaboutthecollection.Shehadsomestorytotellabouteveryone ofthem..." Angela'sfinalwishwastohavethe opportunityto shareherremarkablelife s storywitheveryone. Forthatreason, itispresentedhere as One Woman Century.
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