THE GRANDMOTHERS::Virginia Paxton Gruver

Virginia Paxton Gruver / 8x10 / acrylic on canvas

​My grandmothers are my heroes. I was fortunate as a child to have five living grandmothers, who were strong women. My favorite was my Great Grandma who had a wandering husband and had to provide for four children in a time when women didn't have many choices. She ran a boarding house, boot-legged whiskey and took care of her family. She was able to acquire her own business (in a man's world) in a rural town on Highway 50 in Utah that was a combination Cafe and Gas Station. She was such an inspiration of self-sufficiency and independence, and I miss her dearly. I always remember her having a pencil in her hair over her right ear. It didn't seem to matter if she was at work or where!
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~ Monica Shuey