A Pillar of Strength and Faith

Written By Laura Bush
Photography Courtesy of The Bush Family

s I prepare to celebrate this Mother’s Day with my husband, our four beautiful children and our seven grandchildren, I must take time to reflect on my years of parenting and what this day truly means to me. All of my children are successful in their own right and I watch how they are raising my grandchildren and I am very proud of them. I am proud because I trained them the way I was trained. I became a mom forty-one years ago. I had no formal training, no book of instruction or a magic wand, but I had my mother “Sister,” as I call her, Minnie Mae Chisolm-Mitchell. She was my teacher, my friend, and my mentor. She brought me through my childhood and the daunting task of parenting. She is a “Pillar of strength, endurance and wisdom” and a reflection of her strong belief in God.

Let me share this lovely lady with you. She was born on June 16, 1922 on Buckingham Plantation, across from Moss Creek Plantation on Highway 278. Many of her childhood days were spent picking pecans in the grove on Moss Creek. Both of her parents are deceased. She is the sixth child in a family of five girls and two boys; they all preceded her in death. As an infant, she was adopted by her mother’s sister and her husband, Edward and Minda Gilyard Chisolm. In 1930 they purchased property in Bluffton and moved there when she was eight years old. She never attended school when they lived there because there was no school on the plantation. She later attended the one room schoolhouse called Bluffton Graded, which was for Black children only. It had a big wood stove in the center of the room for heat. there was no electricity or indoor plumbing. This school was located off Bruin Road behind where Williams Barber Shop is today and only went to the seventh grade. To obtain further education, children had to leave Bluffton for boarding school in Beaufort (Shanklin or Penn Center) if they could afford to. Sister’s parents could not afford to send her to boarding school. She has shared the story with me many times of how badly she wanted to go, but her parents could not afford it. Today she credits her teachers, Sylvia Williams and Janie Chaplin for teaching her to read and write. She completed her schooling at the age of fifteen. She started her first real job at the age of sixteen as a maid for the Colcock family (Charles and Julia). She also worked for a short time for the Schultz family (George and Blanche), both Bluffton families.

In 1942, at the age of twenty, she married Joseph Mitchell, from Belfair Plantation. I came along three years later. “Bubba Joe,” as we all called him, suffered a stroke in 1963 and was paralyzed for many years. Sister nursed him back to health and eventually he was able to move from the wheel chair to a walker, and then a cane. He died in 1990 after 27 years of disability. Together they raised fourteen children, nine preceded her in death. Of the five remaining: Edward, Lucille, Laura, James and Juanita, two live out of state, one in Aiken and two in Bluffton. She has twenty one grandchildren (four, she raised), twenty great-grands, and five great-great-grands.

Sister, spent her young adult life caring for her disabled husband and for nine children as the head of the household. I remember her working two jobs at a time, shucking oysters at the Graves Oyster Factory (Bluffton Oyster Factory) from 2 am until 7 am and then rushing home to prepare for her 8 am job as a maid for the Walter Lee Mingledorff family of Myrtle Island. She taught the older ones to look after us; to dress us for school (she made us lay out our clothing the night before), and prepare our breakfast, because of her schedule.

Sister worked for the Mingledorff family for thirty six years and had to retire following a mild stroke in 1980. Before her illness, in addition to these jobs, she also took in laundry for several Bluffton families, planted a vegetable garden of okra, beans, corn and collard greens, raised cows (we named one of them “Bessie”), hogs, chickens and ducks to help feed the family. She also went crabbing and someone always brought us mullet fish by the tub full or catfish (my favorite). She preserved many of her vegetables, as well as fruits. We always had plenty to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over our heads, living in the house built by my dad and Robbie Grant long before my dad was disabled. The house still stands today behind her new brick home on Guerard Avenue in Old Bluffton.

Sister spends her time today enjoying her family, especially her grandchildren and sharing stories about her childhood. She strongly believed in getting an education, and we were not allowed to miss days from school. I remember many times complaining about a stomach-ache or headache, just because I wanted to miss school. She would always say, “Go to school, and if it don’t stop hurting, the teacher know how to reach me.” My children will tell you that I told them the same thing when they tried to pull a fast one. Sister is proud to tell anyone that ten of her fourteen children (four died in infancy, or as young children) finished high school and five attended college or trade school. Her youngest daughter, Juanita is an Elementary School teacher in Tampa, Florida, and her oldest son, Edward is a retired chef in Washington, DC. She spoke daily about not wanting her children to grow up like she did, and that it was the reason she worked so hard. She is always saying how proud she is of us, not realizing how proud we are of her for the struggles she endured. What a legacy of hard work, endurance and sense of family she has instilled in us! I realize each and every day that I was taught by the best, and all I know about life, family, faith, patience, and endurance I owe to my mother, who completed the seventh grade.

In addition to enjoying her family, her hobby is quilt making. She has a room full of beautiful hand made patchwork quilts and pillows. “Ms. Minnie’s Quilts and Pillows” are FOR SALE. For as long as I can remember, each grandchild and great-grand was given a quilt upon high school graduation. She is also actively involved with the Senior Citizen Program that meets at the Bluffton Recreation Center on Ulmer Road. She was baptized when she was twelve in the May River and has been an active member of the First Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Wharf and Robertson Streets for the past 71 years. At First Zion she serves on the Ladies Auxiliary, the Missionary Society, and the Women’s Ministry. She also served on the Senior Choir, but retired because of her health. She still enjoys singing and will share her two favorite songs with you at any time. “I Will Trust In The Lord Until I Die” and “Just One More Time” I have heard her sing these songs over the years, but the message is clearer today than ever before. Not only because she has lost many family members dear to her, but in the past four years she has also lost three close friends and traveling partners, Hattie Pusha, Laura Hamilton and just recently in April, she lost Elizabeth “Lizzie” Lee. They were members together of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and traveled each year to conventions. Her favorite television shows are TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) and I Love Raymond. She likes the mother-in-law character, although she is nothing like her.

As I was writing this article, I asked my children and other family members to share their special times, or the family event(s) they cherished most. Overall, they agreed that the Christmas holiday was a time of real family fellowship and love. We all meet at my mother’s home on Christmas day to exchange gifts and have dinner. The food is prepared by family members with the exception of the stuffing. You have not eaten until you have tasted “Ms. Minnie’s Oyster Stuffing” made with oysters from the May River. This past holiday, thirty five family members and friends were present for dinner. We decided then that the family needed a little more space and will no doubt find a new location for our 2005 Christmas celebration.

Today, at the age of 82, Sister is very active and stays on-the-go; in fact, she doesn’t look a day over 75 (smile). She is surrounded daily by family members who love and take care of her. My sister, Lucille Jones, makes sure her beautiful grey hair is cared for; my daughter Carol Bush takes her flea market shopping, and her grandson Charles Stoney, who lives across the street, checks on her every day. Additionally, she gets calls every week from her daughter, Juanita in Tampa and her sons Edward (Washington, DC) and James (Aiken, SC) who calls before he visits to make sure she is home. Also, not a week goes by without a call from her grandchildren, who live as far away as California, Jersey City and Atlanta and as close as Savannah, Hilton Head and Bluffton.

In summary, I pray each day for the strength and faith my mom has. She has lost her parents, sisters, brothers, and nine children, and I have yet to hear her complain. She has told me many times that “God will not put more on you than you can bear.” I believe her, not only because she is a living witness, but because fourteen months ago my faith was tested and she reminded me of Phillipians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” Watching her has given me the strength I need to face any obstacle that may come my way.

There is a familiar passage of scripture in Proverbs 31:26-27 that sums up how I feel about my mother. It states, “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the fruit of idleness, her children will rise up and call her blessed.” Certainly, these words describe this lovely lady. She is a virtuous woman whose price is far beyond silver or gold.

She is loved by all who know her. Children and adults as well call her “Ms. Minnie.” Give her a call, or stop by for a visit. She will show you her room filled with hand made quilts and pillows and her wall of photographs of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She may even sing you a song or two.

I love my mom, but I am willing to share this gift from God with others. She will always be a pillar of strength and faith to me. Happy Mother’s Day, “Sister.”