I have to take exception to the prominently displayed quote in the Sept. 20 article about catered funeral food ("Stick a fork in it"). Bob Albers, distinguished visiting professor of pastoral care at United Theological Seminary in New Brighton, says, "Women used to look for things to do during the day. Now they're working. They're not unwilling; they simply don't have time for that kind of service."
Does Albers really think the women of a generation or two ago had more time? Less work? Try raising seven children, working on a farm side-by-side with your husband, canning and freezing your winter's store of food, and butchering chickens and hogs.
Try keeping all nine people in your family well-fed and properly clothed. In the days of no microwaves, perhaps no washer and dryer, and certainly no nannies, women's lives were more than filled to the brim with responsibilities. And yet, they found the time to be a part of a caring, loving and thoughtful community, of which being on the list for providing funeral dishes was a small part.
I am not chastising today's women by any means. We live very busy lives. But don't denigrate and minimize the lives of the women in the past. Thanks, Mom, for all your hard work!
JOANIE STENE, DAYTON
