ASHLAND - A beautiful Sunday evening in downtown Ashland included some beautiful comments about mothers during the Mother's Day program at the Mother's Memorial.
The fifth annual tribute to mothers began in 2007 as a way for local elementary school students to express their love and affection for all the good things that their mothers do for them. Started by Mayor Dennis Kane, the program includes students from the North Schuylkill Elementary School as different aspects of how mothers are so very special to them.
As usual, the program was moderated by Ashland Fire Chief Philip Groody.
"Welcome once again to the fifth annual Mother's Day tribute here in downtown Ashland, and where more fitting is a tribute to mother than under the biggest mother in the country right here - the Mother's Memorial," said Groody.
The Mother's Memorial, which was dedicated 73 years ago and is a bronze statue modeled after James McNeil Whistler's "An Arrangement in Gray and Black, No. 1: The Mother" (More popularly known as "Whistler's Mother"), was the perfect backdrop for the program to honor all mothers. The memorial was created as a project by the Ashland Boys Association in 1938.
After Groody's welcome, the invocation was provided by the Rev. Dana Heckman-Beil, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Ashland. She also offered the benediction at the program's conclusion.
The first reader was elementary student Jack Kempsey, who read a poem by an unknown author about a boy asking, "Why Do Mothers Cry?"
"'Why are you crying?' he asked his Mom. 'Because I am a mother,' she told him. 'I don't understand,' he said. His Mom hugged him and said, 'You never will,'" said Kempsey as he started reading the poem.
Groody made the next presentation, reading comments about "My Mom is the Greatest because..." written by Haden Wagner, Janina Coles, Kirsten Heiser, Ayden Conti, Kylee Eikszta, Andrew Gricoski, Joshua Hoffman, Maddie Matrician, Tyler Wall and Jason Love.
The next student reader was Brook Antalosky, who read "When God Created Mothers," a column written in 1974 by the late Erma Bombeck.
"When the good Lord was creating mothers He was into His sixth day of 'overtime' when the angel appeared and said, 'You're doing a lot of fiddling around this one,'" said Antalosky in reading Bombeck's words.
Two students read their short essays on "Why Everyday Should Be Mother's Day for My Mom." The first was fourth grader Savannah Wagner.
"I love my mom because when I am sick, she is there for me and gives me medicine. I really, really, really love my mom. She is the nicest mom ever," said Wagner. "She loves me so much. She takes me places and let's me get some things."
The second presenter was sixth grader Annaliese James.
"My mother, Jacqueline James, is a fabulous and wonderful mother," said James. "She has three children. I am older than my two brothers. She works in the ER as a nurse...My mother does so much for me and my brothers. She cooks some of my favorite foods and she cleans. She does the laundry and helps me with my homework. She helps me understand life by punishing me when I do something bad. She always says she loves me and said she will never hate me...Everyday should be Mother's Day for my mom."
The next student reader was Kira Marlow, who read a poem by Robert Munsch called "Love You Forever."
"A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth," read Marlow. "And while she held him, she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."
Groody returned to the microphone and read student comments on "The Best Thing My Mom Ever Did For Me..." by Meagan Boody, Alexa Prosick, Cheyannerosea Bell, Christian Hawley, Quentin Schultz, Jacob Locke, Kevin Hutko, Kris Fetterman, Angel Himes and Danny Gregas.
Kane spoke briefly about how a mother's job never seems to end, no matter how old the child gets.
"I don't think that motherhood ever ends. We're constantly being shaped and molded by our mothers. It's an ongoing thing," said Kane. "Simple things - learning to talk, learning to walk, and mom's there for us. Tying our shoes, learning to write, crying when we go out the door to school. A mom's job is tough. It's a letting go thing and a holding on thing. All of us should be eternally grateful for the love, the guidance, the care and the understanding our mothers have given to us."