She went to college during the Depression which was quite difficult for her family to afford. Education was extremely important and she worked her way through at Lees McRae College, NC and Florida State College for Women (now Florida State Univ.) Her jobs included weaving tea towels, cleaning dorms, and assisting in the cafeteria.
I'm anxious to find those dogwood tea towels. They remind me of my mother, her dedication to hard work and education, and our happy trips to Appalachia. They're a real treasure.
"And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple,and of scarlet, and of fine linen."
Exodus 35:25