Why Maria Lynam Marches On
I march on because the current administration is tearing the fabric of our country to shreds.
I march on in solidarity with those beside me—my sisters and brothers—to remind our citizenry what we are losing.
In 2018 every time I marched, I thought of my maternal grandmother—Maria (Mary) Anastas Caronna. She was 18 months old when her family made it by ship in steerage to a Texas port from Milan, in the late 1800’s.
When her father found out that food was distributed to families in alphabetical order, he told the purser on the ship that someone spelled their last name, Nastasis, incorrectly—and they became the Anastas family.
As their father worked along the east coast mending and making shoes, the family (mother, father, 4 sisters) eventually made their way to Brooklyn, NY. Once in Brooklyn, my great-grandmother started sewing piecework and specialized in buttonholes on shirt cuffs. Mary was a ‘runner’ – she either picked up raw materials for her mother or delivered finished cuffs to the next seamstress, who sewed them to sleeves.
She was able to finish 2nd grade before she became a live-in nanny to a Jewish family. She spoke Italian and Yiddish until she was in her teens, when she added English. Amazingly, she had no accent—not even Brooklynese.
After she married and had three children, one of her sisters died and she became the foster mother to those four children. She would remake castoff clothing for them all. They were always well dressed. One winter she bought a fur coat and all the kids had fur jackets. She could make soup of out seemingly nothing and shared it with her neighbors on the block. “Do Unto Others” was her mantra.
After my grandfather died, Mary came to live with my family in upstate NY. In addition to her rosary, she always had the Reader’s Digest by her side. She did the vocabulary building exercise, writing down the words she didn’t know. She helped me and my brothers with our spelling words, always reminding us that she was learning as well. Mary knew the value of education and her children had the opportunity to finish high school and attend trade schools and college.
She did not have a social security card until my grandfather passed. She did not vote until she moved in with us in 1950. Once she could vote, she never missed the opportunity. She would put on her sealskin coat and hat be one of the first in line on Election Day.
My grandfather was an independent business owner, but fortunately paid into Social Security. It paid my grandmother $48 a month after he died. She survived two world wars, a major economic depression, and enormous changes in the organization of work, mass production, rapid urbanization, and modern communications, and had to pay for a health insurance plan out of that $48 before Medicare was adopted.
Our family includes marriages to people from Central America, Japan, Europe, and Africa. We are a microcosm of American diversity.
This year I marched on in my grandmother Mary’s honor at:
Women’s March on Prescott, now Yavapai County Women March On! She wanted a better future and a safer future for everyone.
#RedforEd--Education was so important to her and her children, grandchildren, and now greatgrands are college grads-- some are MD’s, others PhDs.
March for Our Lives—Guns were ok if they were used to bring home food, but not for breaking the 6th Commandment.
Keep Families Together—The importance of family is obvious. She would have been feeding today's immigrants, clothing them and understanding why it is crucial to keep our borders open for people to have better lives. She would not have wanted them to live in intimidation or fear of their lives.
Protest the Detainment of Immigrants in Florence—A believer in the US and an admirer of the Statue of Liberty, she would want others to have the same opportunity her family had.
AZ Pass the 98th Amendment—Both of her daughters had careers of their choosing and although I doubt she thought of equal rights for all, that is how she lived her life.
When I protested Kavanaugh’s appointment, she was there. As a devout Catholic, Mary always knew who lied and who misconstrued facts. She would not have voted for #45 because of Commandments 7-9!
Your Voice Is Your Vote!
Your Voice is Your Voice! We must keep that Freedom!
Need I say more?
In 2018 every time I marched, I thought of my maternal grandmother—Maria (Mary) Anastas Caronna. She was 18 months old when her family made it by ship in steerage to a Texas port from Milan, in the late 1800’s.
When her father found out that food was distributed to families in alphabetical order, he told the purser on the ship that someone spelled their last name, Nastasis, incorrectly—and they became the Anastas family.
As their father worked along the east coast mending and making shoes, the family (mother, father, 4 sisters) eventually made their way to Brooklyn, NY. Once in Brooklyn, my great-grandmother started sewing piecework and specialized in buttonholes on shirt cuffs. Mary was a ‘runner’ – she either picked up raw materials for her mother or delivered finished cuffs to the next seamstress, who sewed them to sleeves.
She was able to finish 2nd grade before she became a live-in nanny to a Jewish family. She spoke Italian and Yiddish until she was in her teens, when she added English. Amazingly, she had no accent—not even Brooklynese.
After she married and had three children, one of her sisters died and she became the foster mother to those four children. She would remake castoff clothing for them all. They were always well dressed. One winter she bought a fur coat and all the kids had fur jackets. She could make soup of out seemingly nothing and shared it with her neighbors on the block. “Do Unto Others” was her mantra.
After my grandfather died, Mary came to live with my family in upstate NY. In addition to her rosary, she always had the Reader’s Digest by her side. She did the vocabulary building exercise, writing down the words she didn’t know. She helped me and my brothers with our spelling words, always reminding us that she was learning as well. Mary knew the value of education and her children had the opportunity to finish high school and attend trade schools and college.
She did not have a social security card until my grandfather passed. She did not vote until she moved in with us in 1950. Once she could vote, she never missed the opportunity. She would put on her sealskin coat and hat be one of the first in line on Election Day.
My grandfather was an independent business owner, but fortunately paid into Social Security. It paid my grandmother $48 a month after he died. She survived two world wars, a major economic depression, and enormous changes in the organization of work, mass production, rapid urbanization, and modern communications, and had to pay for a health insurance plan out of that $48 before Medicare was adopted.
Our family includes marriages to people from Central America, Japan, Europe, and Africa. We are a microcosm of American diversity.
This year I marched on in my grandmother Mary’s honor at:
Women’s March on Prescott, now Yavapai County Women March On! She wanted a better future and a safer future for everyone.
#RedforEd--Education was so important to her and her children, grandchildren, and now greatgrands are college grads-- some are MD’s, others PhDs.
March for Our Lives—Guns were ok if they were used to bring home food, but not for breaking the 6th Commandment.
Keep Families Together—The importance of family is obvious. She would have been feeding today's immigrants, clothing them and understanding why it is crucial to keep our borders open for people to have better lives. She would not have wanted them to live in intimidation or fear of their lives.
Protest the Detainment of Immigrants in Florence—A believer in the US and an admirer of the Statue of Liberty, she would want others to have the same opportunity her family had.
AZ Pass the 98th Amendment—Both of her daughters had careers of their choosing and although I doubt she thought of equal rights for all, that is how she lived her life.
When I protested Kavanaugh’s appointment, she was there. As a devout Catholic, Mary always knew who lied and who misconstrued facts. She would not have voted for #45 because of Commandments 7-9!
Your Voice Is Your Vote!
Your Voice is Your Voice! We must keep that Freedom!
Need I say more?
