Jane Wagner | 09/24/2009 2:30 am

Jane Wagner: A Family Divided

In response to: What is your first memory – if any – of the presence of class difference in our society?

I first noticed and felt class difference within my own family. My mother’s mother (we called her "Mama Dear") was from South Carolina and was extremely Southern and somewhat aristocratic. I loved her deeply. She died when I was six. I was so distraught over losing her, they didn’t let me go to her funeral. But she and the rest of my mother’s family showed disdain toward my father, who had to drop out of school at 13 so he could help support his ailing German immigrant parents by working at a job printing shop.

My mother was only 16 years old when she eloped with him to Gatlinburg, TN, to get married. This certainly didn’t enamor him to mother’s family, but their treatment of him had more to do with his lack of education and his German, peasant background and the fact that he had no money, not that they did either – they just acted like they did.

My daddy became a linotype printer, and one time in my teens I visited him in the composing room of the Knoxville Journal. I saw him working at the huge, organ-like linotype machine. He knew so much about all those machines. He knew how to typeset. The machine emitted intermittent blasts of heat as it processed the slabs of white-hot lead, so he was working with his shirt off. Then he showed me how he could read type backward. I was proud of him and so impressed, and I recall thinking, "He should be better paid for this."

Read more about: Class, Culture, Money, Society

9 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

And the class differences experienced by your great grandfather and the citizens of the town because of his dedication and devotion to education the freedman following the Civil War. That class distinction carried down several generations.

Lee

By Lee Q. Miller on 09/24/2009 5:11 pm

e-mail alert

Jane, thanks for sharing this wonderful story about your family. As I was reading your post, I can see all this in my mind (your father working with all those machines) as I too, have lots of experience with newspaper printing as a typesetter (now they call us graphic designers). In my family, my father was the same way, poor but kind and gifted - he didn’t have much education either, went into the army at a very young age, 16 years I think. Hard worker as he was, worked as a warehouse manager for years and then recently as a prison counsler for more than 10 years. Sadly though, he passed just two months ago. I miss him dearly (understatement) so I know what it’s like to loose someone so special in the family as you did when you lost your grandmother. My mother was raised by a very well off family (Columbus, Oh) and her family wasn’t (at first) fond of my father because of his lack of education, money etc, but he grew on them as he did with everyone that he met. My mom on the other hand was not well liked by my father’s mother simply because of my mom’s upper-middle class upbringing. I do remember that my father’s mother (Grandma Mary) would never say my name correctly. She would often misprounouce my name just to upset my mom and not to mention my dad as well. I don’t know. I think all families have their differences, for sure. In the end though, years later when I was older, Grandma Mary made amends to my mom, dad and myself and I had a chance to get to know her better before she past away. Thanks - Shey

By shana (shey) loraine on 09/25/2009 12:41 am

e-mail alert

Ms. Jane,

Thanks so much for sharing this part of your life. Growing up must have been difficult for you.

I sure do miss talking with you.

By Serena . on 09/25/2009 5:33 am

e-mail alert

Jane-

You are a gift! Thank you letting us into a bit of your life!

I’ve missed you dahlin’!

Josie

By Josie Sullivan on 09/25/2009 7:37 am

e-mail alert

My dear Ms. Jane,

It was brave of you to share your story—thank you! I am sure it will help other people to read it. As for me, I try to live in the moment and not be judgemental, but then I’m a cat. Nice to hear from you again. I’ve missed you. The following is from one of my people:

"When my father was young, he lived along the Mississippi River in Wisconsin. His father (my grand father) was the county superintendent of schools. The family lived up on the bank of the river. Most of the children lived down right along the river. Because many of their fathers drank (some to excess) on Saturday night, my father and his two siblings wern’t allowed to play with the other children. So their childhood was very controlled and lonely because of the discrepancy in education and morals."

Love, Dice the Nice!

By Dice the Nice on 09/25/2009 12:52 pm

e-mail alert

My parents divorced when I was ten years old and my brother was 7 1/2 years old. It was in the early 1970’s and divorce was not previlant then. I was shunned from some friends homes and my own aunt looked upon us as broken piece of furniture. Unfortunately by the time my own first marriage ended after 19 years in the 1990’s I had to put my kids through the ugly termoil of divorce. However, by that time it was the norm and not the exception.

By jules verne on 09/27/2009 8:51 pm

e-mail alert

Growing up in Harlem NY which seemed a different city unto itself… As a child while going downtown to 34th street to go to Conway’s (stop laughing), I would notice that the buses would run on 34th street and several streets east to west. Now, when walking on 34th street there is not one bus going up and down Park Avenue. No bus, No trains….Nothing!. I asked my mother about that and she stated that the people that live on Park Avenue have enough money to decide whether or not they want the noise in their Neighborhood. That shocked the bejesus out of me. So, you have enough money to decide what noise that you have in your neighborhood. This incident was the first time that I realized that there is a "CLASS" system in this country! SMH!!!!

By Nicole Kitt on 09/29/2009 1:36 am