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Mildred L. (Millie) Edison's lengthy resume does not reveal her life of ups and downs or her stoic determination to succeed. It reveals her education but does not say that during most of that period she had three
part-time jobs, cared for three children, milked two cows, and turned her garden into a trailer lot to house college students--all while attending college herself.
Her resume notes that she was added to the
university staff in 1964; it does not say that even though she had only a B.A. Degree, the Division Chairman was so impressed with her abilities that he named her an instructor, or that she was named to
decision-making academic committees, or that she pursued and obtained her Masters Degree while teaching a full load, or that she was asked to pursue a doctorate program (at a time when women were not encouraged to
do so) and given a sabbatical to pursue hers as soon as she obtained tenure.
All of this is to let you know that she had a compulsion to accomplish, a willingness to work hard to reach a goal, and possessed
confidence in her abilities.
On the non-academic side, Mil devoted time to her family, church, her children's schools, and to her widowed mother. When Mil’s three children were young, growing up in a country
setting, she taught them how to be frugal and to use the land. They all participated in growing and preserving vegetables; they picked wild berries for cobblers and jam; they raised chickens and ducks; they caught
crawfish with pork tied to the end of a string on a stick and fished for bream with cane poles; they went to family gatherings at graveyard workings (Another story later on that topic!); Mil's daughter learned to
make useful items out of printed feed sacks.
The family was not so artistic as Clementine, but they all learned to "make do," as did Clementine.
For her church, Mil wrote and directed
Christmas plays, ran the church's concession at the parish fair each year, served as treasurer, and designed and supervised the construction of a new parsonage on land her family donated.
While working
full-time or going to school and working, Mil always participated in PTA activities at the school. Being innovative and frugal, she once made dainty "chicken salad" sandwiches for a large gathering. The
secret ingredient? Ground tongue from one of their slaughtered cows. It was a true crowd-pleaser. (You won't find the secret recipe on this site! Perhaps by private request.)
Mil's father died when she was
18, leaving debts and no savings for her mother, who was only 47. Being
the youngest of five children and the only one in the area, Mil became the care-giver, a responsibility lasting until Susie's death in 2000 at the age of ninety-nine years and eight months.
On a lighter note, you should know that amid
something of a "hard life," Mil managed to have fun and laugh at the world. For instance, while on the faculty at Northwestern and during the Easter break, she metamorphosed from a brunette to a
blonde. (Friends in the small town of Natchitoches prophesied dismissal.) For a high school reunion, held over forty years after graduation, she donned short skirt and tights to join others of her old
cheerleader group as surprise entertainment. (The real surprise was that no one could jump higher than a few inches!)
Continuing her occasional frivolity, Mil recently won a "Crazy Hat Contest."
Always the educator, she hopes you will learn a bit from her site. Mostly, she wants you to enjoy! |
