CityView Magazine

12 | March/April • 2014 By Mary Zahran on second thought had packed into the trunk. It had been picked just that morn- ing and sometimes there was still dew on the corn silks or dirt on the potatoes. I still haven't found another tomato as juicy or flavorful as the ones she would bring in July and August. She also sold jams and jellies that she had made, along with mounds of freshly churned, creamy white butter that was not at all like the harsh yellow kind from the store. ese days, we would describe her as an entrepreneur in a sustainable food program, but back then, she was just a farm- er's wife who earned some extra cash for her family by selling the world's tastiest tomatoes and corn. My maternal grandfather's sister, Minnie, was another memorable businesswoman. She stood only five feet tall, with curly crimson hair, but she was a force to be reckoned with. She lived in Raleigh and made her living as a seamstress. So impressive was her work repairing men's clothing that the owner of a large local department store lured her away from another employer with the offer of more money and a better work schedule. Ordinarily, this kind of story doesn't garner much atten- tion, but in Minnie's case it did. She was 90-years-old at the time. At an age when most of her contemporaries had long since retired or passed away, Aunt Minnie was changing jobs. Leaving a position that she had held for decades, she decided that it was time for a new challenge. She remained at this new job for just a few years before poor health forced her to retire and she died shortly thereaer. Apparently, Aunt Minnie be- lieved that a life without work was no life at all. My reference to these women as "ordinary" is not meant to be demeaning or dismissive. I use it because I believe that they represent most of the female workers in the world. Most women do not run large corporations or write best sellers about the business world. ey don't have power lunches with Bill Gates or Oprah Winfrey. What they do is show up day aer day. ey show up for work and they show up for life. ey remind us of the im- portance of working hard, of putting forth one's best effort, of persevering against great odds and of facing life with good humor, grit and gratitude. And these qualities make them anything but ordinary. CV Mary Zahran, who hopes that she is still writing columns when she is ninety years old, can be reached at maryzahran@ gmail.com Ordinary Women IN PrAIse oF W hen we hear the phrase "women in business," most of us probably think of rich and powerful wom- en: Mary Kay, Estee Lauder, Kate Spade, Mrs. Fields and Marie Callender remind us that a woman with a great product and a good head for business can build an empire just as well as any man can. But in reality, most working women don't have such a high profile nor do they preside over a multi-national corporation. ey are what I affectionately refer to as "ordinary women"— individuals whose hard work and dedication are evident eve- rywhere. While they don't grace the cover of Forbes or For- tune, they grace our lives with their talents, steadfastness and strong work ethic. I remember three such women from my childhood and even now, long aer they have passed from this world, I can still recall in vivid detail the impression that each one made on me. e Mrs. Smith that I knew didn't make pies, she made furniture polish. She lived at the corner of my street in a white house with a large garage in the back. Twice a week, she and her husband would mix a batch of honey-colored polish in a gigantic metal tub. Although they kept the recipe for their product a secret, they were happy to let the neighborhood children watch them stir the strong-smelling concoction and pour it into glass bottles. Aer all the bottles had been filled, they would move to the final step — putting the labels on. is was my favorite part of the process. I can still see Mrs. Smith sitting on a low stool, a rag in her hand, holding up each bottle to the light to make sure that the label was centered perfectly. So taken was I with their product that I decided to try some when I was about four years old. I didn't use it to dust furni- ture. I drank it. I have since discovered that Chardonnay tastes much better and doesn't require a trip to the emergency room. I do not know the name of the second small businesswom- an I remember from my childhood. We simply called her the Vegetable Lady. Every Saturday morning from early spring to late autumn she would drive to our neighborhood, park her car at the end of the street and ring a large school bell to let us know of her arrival. Most of us would come out to buy the fresh produce she

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