BoomerGirl Diary

"Housewife."

I remember watching my mother write that in the "occupation" space and thinking how she could have filled in "nothing" and would have it meant the same thing to society. How sad, just because she wasn't paid, her work and that of many other women in my small town, didn't count.

Fast forward 50 years and my hometown, Saline, Mich., is now No. 59 in CNN's top 100 small towns to live in. Saline became the kind of place people wanted to live for many reasons, but I know that the No. 1 reason is because women like my Mother and her pals put in the time.

One of those women was my "other" Mom, Woodie, who was also just a housewife. She worked on a 500 acre farm, helped raise five kids, and in her space time served on the board of the local hospital, school and headed the library board which is planning a $9 million expansion. She didn't get paid for any of it, although I'm sure those building the buildings were.

While I was growing up, the town was maybe 1,000 people. The schools were so good that the town became known as the bedroom community for Ann Arbor and other nearby commutes. Today, the town is up to 8,700 and the school system that is still bringing them in. Good work, Woodie.

In the fall, thousands of people enjoy an old-fashioned fair. For 40 years, Rose, my mother-in-law, oversaw the vendors. Without them, no fair and no fun. She didn't get paid for her time, either, and she coordinated it all after putting in a full day as a nurse.

Schools, churches, fairs, libraries, events … at their base is a flock of women gluing everything together and giving them a soul. Rarely do they get paid for such things. It's just women's work, these silly things that we do that makes a town a great place to live.

Woodie and her husband, Bob, sold the farm and he became a Realtor during the boom days. All the seeds that were planted by his wife and other townswomen made the town created a highly livable community.

Nice jobs, gals. Thank you for your work and for creating a town that's one of the best in the nation.