Talented At An Easel

Talented At An Easel
100 Year Birthday Remembrance
Dorothy Frances Stewart, BFA

Sterling Silver Pin designed by my mother between 1937 and 1940 (inscribed RISD)
collection of the author, scanned with Flip-Pal scanner

1937 "Outside the Sculpture Class" wearing smocks
with two friends, collection of the author

(1935)The Cranstonian,  Cranston High School (East) p. 78
Ancestry.com School Yearbook Collection (blog post)

If she were alive today, my mother, Dorothy Frances (Stewart) Broadfoot would be one hundred years old. (7 January 1916-3 Jun 2002). It is plausible that she could have lived to be 100 since her mother lived to be 98 and her great grandmother lived to be 99 but Mom's health was not good near the end of her days.

She knew all four of her grandparents and the previously mentioned 99 year old great grandmother.
(Below: 1916 portrait of my mom with my grandmother in 1916)

Telling the story of my mother's life would be remiss without mentioning that she was a talented artist. Her high school yearbook (see screen shot above), states she was, "Very talented at an easel and before long we shall be reviewing her works of art".

It was finding that yearbook quote that made think that I had not learned about her education beyond the 8th grade. In those days, small neighborhood grammar schools that went to the 8th grade were the rule but children went to a parochial school for the same period of time. My mother went to a grammar school on nearby Norwood Ave. until she graduated from the 8th grade. This is why the 1940 census was so popular, it showed that many children went to work after the 8th grade. Many of our ancestors considered themselves lucky to go to school until 14 and only a select group went to high school. My mother went to Cranston High School (East) while her brother went to a private boarding school.

After high school, my mother attended a junior college called Lasell in Massachusetts (Lasell College) probably for two years. According to the article on Wikipedia, they offered a specialty in fashion. It was a boarding school and she hated it. I had a hard time getting her to talk about it.

After that, she attended the nearby Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island and majored in Fashion Design and Photography. At that time, "certificates of completion" were given when your course of study was finished. I don't know why. But, in 1990, the college told her (by mail) that she was eligible for a degree. All of us were surprised. When it came in the mail we found out she earned a "Bachelor of Fine Arts".  It is quite a big document and I must remember to re-scan it better with my Flip-Pal.

I know that my mother worked for Bachrach, a portrait studio and society photographer, covering events in Hartford, Connecticut after college. When men began to enlist in WWII she returned home to help out by working in her father's business. (This 1940s era photo of my mother was probably taken at that studio) Photo by Artistic  Photo Co. 103 Westminster St. Providence RI,

She always encouraged me to be creative and for that, I am grateful every day.

Happy Birthday, Mom!