May 9, 1999
We love our mothers
By Malinda Ruble
Staff Writer
Since the beginning of time, mothers have been wiping dirty faces, kissing scraped knees and spending sleepless nights caring for their children.
Today many will take the time to honor mothers on Mother's Day. And the the Fraternal Order of Eagles 402 in Tiffin is no exception.
But the group's commitment to mothers goes beyond the annual mothers/daughters banquet &emdash; it goes back to the inception of Mother's Day.
"One day in 1902, Frank (Hering) happened to step into the classroom of a (Notre Dame) University priest. The instructor was passing out penny postcards to the students. Each boy took a card, addressed it, turned it over and began to write. 'What are they writing?' asked Hering. The class instructor smiled. 'Anything,' he said. 'Anything at all, as long as it's to their mother. We do this once a month in this class. One day a month is Mother's Day.' Mother's Day &emdash; that's a familiar phrase today, but in 1902, nobody ever heard of it, except a priest, a few students and Frank Hering,'' stated Dan Mathias, secretary of Tiffin Eagles.
From there Hering took the idea of once a year honoring mothers and ran with it. Looking for a way to spread the idea, Hering turned to his Fraternal Order of Eagles club in South Bend, Ind. Soon the Fraternal Order of Eagles took up the crusade.
"The idea spread rapidly and gripped the hearts and imagination of people from every walk of life. All across the nation, Eagles clubs began to set aside a day to honor mothers and motherhood,'' Mathias said.
In 1907, Ann Jarvius of Philadelphia joined the campaign and chose the second Sunday of May as a tribute to her own mother, who had passed away on that day, as Mother's Day.
"In 1912, the Eagles internationally passed a statute calling for observance of Mother's Day by every Eagles Club. Two years later, Congress sent a resolution to the president of the United States which stated in part: 'Whereby the President of the U.S. should, through annual proclamation, name the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day,' " Mathias said.
Today, Tiffin Eagles continues to carry on the tradition of honoring mothers that began so many years ago.
"Each year, the Tiffin Eagles Auxiliary has a mother/daughter banquet in honor of Mother's Day. This year the banquet will be held on Wednesday, May 12, in order not to conflict with other family activities. The Tiffin Eagles also reserves Mother's Day to put up the flags in the downtown area, since the Eagles was instrumental in getting this day established, nationally,'' Mathias said.
He encouraged all children to take the time to honor mothers in the community.
"Tiffin Eagles 402 encourages everyone in our community area to make the time to spend with their own mothers this Mother's Day. In the event that she is not on this Earth anymore, please take the time to remember her in a very special way. Remember, without her, you would not be around today,'' he said.