My mother started her professional life off as a telephone operator. I mean one of those who wore the headset and plugged the cables into the different holes in the wall. You know what I mean. Then she was a WAC in WWII. She later became a secretary for many years.
She sort of settled into a job working as a head secretary for the Public Defender's office. They would defend those accused people who could not afford an attorney. She loved the law, but with five kids and an abusive husband, could not go back to school to become a lawyer or a paralegal.
She was also a Baptist, converting from Catholicism when she was in her late forties. When she was about fifty a position opened up for a District Judge in our town and because she was politically active in her party and because she knew so many people in the legal profession, she - a lay woman - was appointed to attend a 6 month long school to become a District Judge.
In our state, a District Judge handles summary cases and refers on misdemeanor and felony cases to the BIG court downtown. We would hold hearings, I was her secretary now, and the cases would be either dismissed, waived or bound over to court.
She also settled civil disputes where the monetary value was under $2,000. Anything over that had to go to the Court of Common Pleas.
She also performed marriages. Being Baptist, she was conflicted.
I guess she could have refused to do them, since her minister was upset that she was going to perform them, but it was her duty as a DJ to officiate. She determined that if the people that she was marrying were up for it, she was going to perform a Christian ceremony.
I can still hear the minister gasp at that one.
I was fortunate to be able to accompany her to several weddings. I would carry a book which listed all of her weddings and have the parties sign. I would also be the one to refuse to take a fee for the wedding, we were not permitted.
I saw her perform weddings at beautiful country clubs and in the county lockup. I saw her perfom weddings in hospitals and in our own front living room.
Man, I miss my mom. She died from cancer July 7, 1994 - nearly twenty years ago. But I look forward to following in her footsteps as I perform my first ceremony on July 12th of this year.
I think she would be proud.