Family Writings
Sue Tipps Mathys (1926-1986)
Like mother, like daughter.
My mother had filing cabinets filled with pictures torn out of magazines, articles she just had to return to and favorite quotes scribbled on bits of paper. So do I.
Mom also had cherished notebooks filled with ideas, first lines that might turn into something at a later date and more quotes. I remember seeing her small brown six-ringed notebook lying on the counter, always ready in case inspiration hit. Like Mom, I always have notepads on hand.
Flipping through pages filled with Mom's handwriting, and occasional numbers added by Dad, I glimpse the diversity of what was brewing inside her. What a view! I've shared highlights from the notebook below. You're welcome to take a look.
Mom was a renaissance woman, always pondering a wide range of topics. I am deeply grateful that recording the little details of life is part of the legacy passed from mother to daughter.
Page 11 from the January, 1967 Readers Digest, with a statement by Professor John Bunzell, quoted in the Milwaukee Journal, which said, "It has been said that the biggest problems in the world are really so tiny – the atom, the ovum, and a touch of pigment."
Monthly pymt rate on an $18,000 at 6% [apparently she was trying to figure out the length of the term for the house loan as we moved from Abilene to Midland, TX in 1965]
| 9 yrs | 216.00 |
| 10 | 199.84 |
| 11 | 186.61 |
| 15 | 151.90 |
| 16 | 146.06 |
| 20 | 128.96 |
Celluclay
Celluclay, a paper mache product, was manufactured by a friend of Mom's in the 1960's. She used it in many artistic projects. Some of her Celluclay Christmas decorations were included in the December 1966 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine [maybe include a photo of one]
Creativity-interesting people
1. Paper Mache
what it is
what it isn't
3. [2 was missing] Possible uses
round
flat
jewelry…
Rome
Fountain of Trevi
CIAT Bus Tour
Campidoglio via Michelangelo's steps…
Eat on Piazza Navove
Alley in Trestovere
Artichokes in Ghetto…
Church history fascinated her. Pages and pages of notes filled her notebook covering different schools of Christian religious thought including social gospel, left wing, humanism, fundamentalism and teachings of Catholic philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas. This was followed by information on other religions, orthodoxy and an exploration of the empirical philosophy of religion. After teaching a Sunday School class for Methodist college age students in Abilene, Mom taught an ongoing "Searchers" Adult education class at the First United Methodist Church for most of our time in Midland.
Deny original sin
Education
Degrees of
Ethics "Truth of negligence is to be judged by whether it makes the world a
more ideal place in which to live."
From religion to art, home mortgages to the biggest problems in the world: few stones were left unturned by Sue Tipps Mathys.
