Show Chi Ch J 1 1 Kathleen Norris Says r The Glorious S Fifties Bell Syndicate Features kj s Jr t our 1 for u of a and J Jed ed o oad ad Hundreds of sensibly women of 50 are invaluable to their families aft t serene busy J Jp P PadY YI KATHLEEN NORRIS Iff AM 50 I 1 am superfluous lIi l I am fitted for no special work I am faced with tT upon a d daughter Rio bo is burdened with two n hildren and a new baby s' s 6 ld fc-ld td d a son-in-law son who frankly e like me An old add ad- ad 3 d barer 70 with some prop- prop 1 1 ty ty wants to marry me P Pr you think a woman of M 1 crazy to marry again Ierg I Ive erg ve ve been een widowed three ars h tos fI i j ThiS is part of the ra rather stark leti let let- of Wenda White who lives In Ib ton I certainly would advise y woman of 50 or even 60 to tont arty arry arry an old admirer if it she wants nt f f fo e f but ut 1 Im I'm m not sure Id I'd d advise for for- forenda that way When she says t she is superfluous and fitted 1 no special work she a adds ds un un- tl ti that she Is stupid and stupid woman is not apt to make good wife In middle Somei Some Some- I j i nes es stupid little beauties in their I ns ns make a success of It be- be 1 use use they learn and they are cute I tie Be learning But Wenda sounds t ther grim I doubt if sh she could arn rn now to be a happy wife Note Note what Wenda tells me In lese se few phrases In her three 1 wears Pt ars of widowhood and in the years fore it it she never has found any ld work Not nurses' nurses aide work i ade i t library or kindergarten or teaI tea tea- I m work nothing that would keep I ser se r r busy and insure her ti ce For the past six years Amera Amer- Amer e a has b been n crying aloud for worn worn- 7 4 jb b workers has been overpaying iem favoring them but not tenda lenda A ri ezer Ier only child has been heavily Burdened with young w wifehood the i premature care of babies not nol her herc i. i pvn j the expense and responsibilIty Ity Uy tY of motherhood but Wenda surer sure- sure r V wasn't much use All she admits rhe the be did was antagonize her daugh- daugh rs r's husband Perhaps she didn't Jant rant Violet to marry a man who had two children perhaps she felt that Violets Violet's own mother- mother took place too promptly What What- fever weyer ver it was instead of making J ir- ir herself adored by this young couple F Hind fand and indispensable to them Wenda as as only made herself hersel disagree- disagree ble ble and closed that door toof too f i Wenda Will Fail Pail Again S sri Now she proposes to take her various Carious arious failures discontents into still another sphere n help her old admirer if he Lets gets her A smarter old man would find a woman who had a good goodo fob job o and liked It whose family idolIzed idol idol- d her and shrieked at the thought Act ot t anyone walking away with Mom i A very young wife may have her sj her limitations her pretty faults But when a n woman has 4 lived 50 years without learning the secret of usefulness service affection tion then she never Is going to be bei i anything to anyone daughter husband husband hus- hus band band or friend I But 50 C can lD be a glorious age I dont don't mean a shadowy resigned time of looking on at life I mean a time for splendid and useful useful use- use ful living When a womans woman's hectic early arly days are over her children grown grown herself hersell freed for all the interests In- In and activities for which she shei i has never had time she may well ter into the years of ofer her er whole life lIe There is some work at a well developed and need woman ought to be interest- interest 3 d in by that time something she to c eager eager ger to do Her health will be 1 1 i if she has learned how to care a So r to R 1 V 9 f fc l r c She feels superfluous TWO VIEWPOINTS ON MIDDLE AGE To mall many women the later years cars are the best o of f their lives The fifties sixties even the be I seventies and eighties can full of richness and quiet hap hap- I children children children chil chil- After a womans woman's dren have grown up she has a anew stew new freedom and an opportunity opportunity to do many mallY things that she could trot not while her family was her first concern She can travel pursue some hobby stud study or do any number of things Perhaps her greatest joy foy will be helping to care for her grandchildren Or she may want to give her time to some charitable work On OIl the other hand some women find the later laJer years ears a miserable time They feel useless useless use use- less unwanted Nothing seems worth doing Usually these women have been unhappy all their lives n Wenda da White is 50 and a widow She is dependent dent upon her daughter who has haS' three children Wenda's son-in-law son doesn't like her and takes no pains ains to hide the fact A way out has appeared suddenly however and Wenda is wondering wondering won won- dering what to do An old admirer admirer admirer ad ad- has asked her to marry him bim He has a little property properly and could take care of her well uell She is asking Miss Norris what course to follow for hers herself ell and a hundred of the younger desires and dreams will have been brushed aside like the worthless things they were Not half halt enough has been said of ot the golden autumn beauty of the Any younger woman contemplating contemplating plating them shudders away with horror And too many women reaching them accept that horror as a true indication of ot what they mean and help to preserve the delusion delusion de de- de I lusion that the are a lonely superfluous time when one doesn't I belong and isn't wanted any any- where Actually the most useful women in the world are those between 45 and 65 and any woman who doesn't discover it when she reaches the earliest date is cheating herself She can achieve complete happiness if she will Hotel Manager at al 70 I could cite hundreds of ot cases of ot sensible women of 50 and more who are invaluable to their families healthy serene busy Hundreds more hold positions of dignity and trust some do both One woman 70 years old this week found herself hersel widowed 20 years ago with a delicate delicate delicate deli deli- cate daughter three small grandchildren grandchildren grandchildren grand grand- children and a son law who was tubercular all to be provided for There was no talk of being superfluous super super- or untrained from Mary Carter Carter Carter Car Car- ter although for all her 50 years she had been an adored and pampered pampered pampered pam pam- daughter and wife wie She moved the family to a climate climate climate cli cli- mate in which Max could live and he is living still She took over an abandoned hotel put all her heart and energy into it and runs it at a profit today with her birthday In sight She has enjoyed it laughed over it used her imagination imagination imagination nation on it and she is the most popular person In her own mountain mountain mountain moun moun- tain town today I wonder what poor Wenda would have made of It |