Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Be Inspired Series #2: Oseola


Oseola

Oseola.

Say the name aloud. It sounds like the name of a flower. Like silk, like perfume, like pink pearls.

In fact, it’s the name of a simple woman from humble beginnings who worked hard her whole life and had something to show for it when she died. Oseola McCarty.

Oseola, conceived in rape, was born in rural Mississippi in 1908. She was raised by her mother, grandmother, and her aunt who all made their living by cleaning and cooking for other people. The family of four moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1916 and Oseola lived there the rest of her life.

As a little girl, Oseola was drawn to washing clothes. Her mother let her start on simple things like washing socks. Then the older women taught her how to iron. When she was around 10 years old, her teacher privately asked her who ironed her clothes. When Oseola said she did it herself, her teacher asked what she would charge to iron a linen dress.

“Ten cents,” came Oseola’s quiet reply.

But when the teacher saw her dress freshly washed and pressed, she paid Oseola a quarter. After that, “the work just seemed to come,” Oseola said.

Oseola’s aunt became an invalid when Oseola was about 12 years old and Oseola left school to help care for her. She fell behind in school and never returned. But she found joy in doing laundry. “I knew there were people who didn’t have to work as hard as I did, but it didn’t make me feel sad. I loved to work, and when you love to do anything, those things don’t bother you. Work is a blessing.”

From the beginning Oseola was a saver. As a child she tucked her earnings in a doll baby buggy her grandmother had given her—the previous owners were going to throw it away. Then one day, she walked past a bank and decided her money would be better off there. She opened a checking account (though she only remembered writing one check). Every month she’d pay the bills, put a little bit in the collection plate of the Friendship Baptist Church, and take anything that was left to the bank.

Eventually her friends at the bank advised her to put her money in a savings account where it would earn more interest. Then they suggested Certificates of Deposit, known as CDs.

She lived frugally, wearing hand-me-down clothes, taping together the pages of her worn Bible. Never owned a car. “My secret was contentment. I was happy with what I had,” she said.

By the time she was 60, her grandmother, mother, and aunt had died. “I was alone, except for the Lord,” she said. In her 80s she finally quit working; the arthritis in her hands was too painful.

“Hard work gives your life meaning,” she said. “Everyone needs to work hard at something to feel good about themselves. Every job can be done well and every day has its satisfactions. If you want to feel proud of yourself, you’ve got to do things you can be proud of.”

And again her bank had a conversation with her. Knowing she had set aside a tidy sum, one of the bank officers asked her what she’d like to do with her money. Being sure she had the resources she’d need to live, he gave her ten dimes and had her divide up her money by designating those dimes to the people or organizations she would like to support.

She set aside one dime for the Friendship Baptist Church.

A dime for each of her three cousins.

And six dimes for a dream she’d treasured for years.

“I want to help some child go to college,” she said. “I’m going to give the rest of my money to the University of Southern Mississippi [in her hometown of Hattiesburg] so deserving children can get a good education. I want to help African-American children who are eager for learning like I was, but whose families can’t afford to send them to school.”

The contribution totaled $150,000. When the people of Hattiesburg learned what Oseola had done, they added to her contribution, more than tripling her original endowment.

Word of her unusual generosity spread widely until even President Bill Clinton learned what she had done. He presented her with a Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation’s second highest civilian award, Other awards and recognition followed.

But what mattered to Oseola was that she was going to make a difference in the lives of young people in her hometown. Today, the University of Southern Mississippi presents several full-tuition scholarships in her name every year.

She told one interviewer, “I am proud that I worked hard and that my money will help young people who worked hard to deserve it. I’m proud that I am leaving something positive in this world. My only regret is that I didn’t have more to give.”

Oseola. Say it aloud. Let the name remind you that work is a blessing, contentment a multiplier, and generosity a reward.



No comments:

Post a Comment