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Granny |
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Board of Directors
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GRANNY FACTS
The inspiration for the Granny Fund at Philadelphia Park is the life of Catherine Youmans. She lost her mother to a heart defect when she was 10 years old and married William Youmans when she was 13. She and William survived the great depression by living off meat that William would hunt and vegetables that they grew. During the Second World War Catherine worked for the Reynolds Metals Company. She was a Rosie the Riveter type and when the war was over she left Reynolds to make room for the returning vets. Moving from house to house Granny learned the skills necessary to fix up her homestead. She could plumb, carpenter, hang wallboard, plaster, hang paper, refinish cabinets etc., etc., etc. Anything that needed fixed or painted she could do it. She also made clothes for the family. What a woman! Granny always had a quick wit, a smile and words that always made you feel special. This helped the people around her all learn to cope with life and with what it deals us. This scholarship fund of Granny’s was created because of her belief and commitment to education. She instilled in her children, “You must go to school. You must get a good education.” This was from a woman that never got past the 8th grade. She motivated one of her daughters to go back to school after her last child to learn to be a key-punch operator; a must needed skill at the time in the blooming computer field. She always told anyone that would listen (including grooms and hotwalkers at the track) that education is what gets you out of the fields and factories. Both places kept body and soul together for her and William, but she wanted better for all of us. Granny’s family knows that she would be pleased to see these funds used to help others improve themselves with better education and so the Granny Fund was created.
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