Actress Christine Steves performs a staged reading of playwright Collette Cullen’s “The Grandmother Project” March 8 at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House for the Dearborn Chapter of the American Association of University Women.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – A staged-reading of local playwright Collette Cullen’s “The Grandmother Project” served as a springboard for story-sharing during Women’s History Month March 8 at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden Ross House.
Sponsored by the Dearborn chapter of the American Association of University Women, the event included a presentation of the short play, followed by a sharing of member stories, including tales of immigration, survival during the Great Depression and on the home front during the World Wars, and personal anecdotes about skills and lessons learned from grandmothers.
AAUW program co-vice president Deb McBain said she thought it would be fun for members to share their own personal history during Women’s History Month by sharing oral remembrances about their grandmothers.
“We are a connection between generations,” she said. “We take the stories of our grandmothers and we pass them forward.”
Cullen, who said she is willing to bring “The Grandmother Project” to other groups as a catalyst for sharing stories, said she believes doing so will help women through this point in history.
Speaking of her grandmother Irene Cullen, Collette admonished listeners “Don’t tell anybody – I am her favorite” amid appreciative laughter.
She said her grandmother taught her to shovel coal into her house’s furnace, and to take care of the boarders she took into her home.
“The goal, of course, is not to tell the story but to live the legacy,” Cullen said.
American Association of University Women member Rosa Scaramucci (right) shares a quilt made by her Italian grandmother during a post-play story-sharing session for “The Grandmother Project” March 8 at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House sponsored by the Dearborn Chapter of the AAUW.
American Association of University Women member Judy Monroe shares her grandmother story during a post-play memory-sharing session for “The Grandmother Project” March 8 at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House sponsored by the Dearborn Chapter of the AAUW.
American Association of University Women member and Dearborn City Councilmember Leslie Herrick shares her musical-themed grandmother story during a post-play memory-sharing session for “The Grandmother Project” March 8 at the Dearborn Historical Museum’s McFadden-Ross House sponsored by the Dearborn Chapter of the AAUW.