Mollie Sparks was born amid the hardwood trees in Putnam County, Tennessee, on December 5, 1876. Her family came to America in 1669 and would call Monterey, Tennessee, home for generations.
Mollie’s academic education lasted for two years. Like others in that era, all family members worked to put food on the table. The luxury of going to school was merely a dream for many.
She married John Thomas Sparks in 1894. Two weeks before her last child was born, her husband tragically died in a sawmill accident. Mollie was left to care for five small children and would eventually raise two granddaughters.
Our American history reveals several well-known heroines. We recognize these outstanding women for their heroic acts of extreme courage and strength.
Mollie Sparks was not famous, yet she was a giant among our many unheralded, unsung courageous American women. She stood erect at 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 88 pounds her entire adult life. However, she could carry the weight of her world on her tiny frame.
After her husband died, she was left impoverished. The family lived in a small clapboard house with a large enough yard to yield a garden. She had no indoor plumbing, car, electricity, or one to assist her with the enormous task of providing for her young family.
Mollie rolled up her sleeves and, from then on, never sat down. She earned her money by washing and ironing clothes for the townsfolk. The water came from her well, the washing machine was her hands on a washboard, and her iron heated on a wood-burning stove.
At the end of her long days, she hand-sewed quilts to keep her children warm. Each stitch by her slender, nimble fingers created beautiful, intricate patterns that would pass to family members she would never meet.
Mollie’s hair grew past her waist, which she rolled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck to keep it out of the way. The dress she wore every Sunday to church was clasped at the collar with a broach that, I am sure, was a gift.
She tithed all she could spare on those Sundays and gave produce from her garden to those needier than she. She obeyed the principles of her devout faith in God her entire life.
Her children grew into beautiful, sweet, caring people. None of them were afraid to work to aid their families. They were all kind, reliable, good people, who asked for little and never complained.
Her oldest son survived his service in World War I and returned to Tennessee to become a fireman until he was burned severely in an explosion. She cared for and nursed him back to health even though her beautiful boy bore scars for the rest of his life.
Another son died at 38, leaving her to raise his two children. They became nurses and gave all the credit for their living to the life of Mollie Sparks.
By her death at age 94, she endured many of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren serving our country in five wars. She was stubborn, willful, and could rule a clan with an iron fist.
Mollie never felt life owed her anything other than what it produced. She worked for all she had and then gave all she had left to the people blessed to know this fine woman of integrity.
Her belief that kindness, discipline, and faith would get one through all life’s travails was a testimony to a well-lived life. Not with an abundance of material items but with a generous heart.
I often wonder what she would think of this world today.
A world where people complain if the waiter isn’t serving them fast enough. A culture where some applaud vitriol, crave entertainment and teach their children by words instead of actions. We can become spoiled by not remembering those who fearlessly gave so much.
Mollie Sparks taught me a lot about endurance. In my darkest hours, when living felt unbearable, I would remember this woman’s daily life, and then my problems became very small. I could survive anything because her spirit and grit were inspiring.
My great-grandmother, Mollie Randolph Sparks, was unsinkable, undeterred, and undeniably remarkable.
Often our God-given heritage helps us find strength from those who walked before us. Sometimes we must look backward to see that confidence, gratitude, and faith are necessary to travel forward.
