I am honoring my mother, Donnis Wilson Schneider, in the Plaza of Heroines because she exemplifies the hard-working, honest, compassionate and courageous women who helped make the Great Plains States great.
She was born on Feb. 28, 1917, in Waterloo, Nebraska, and moved to Iowa after her marriage. She helped my father restore eroded Iowa farmland and preserved a patch of native prairie. She taught my sister and me to recognize the wild flowers, where to gather wild mushrooms, how to cook, how to ride horses, to be self-reliant.
And she taught us to see the beauty around us in everyday life.
As a sideline to her basic job of homemaker and mother, she helped our father restore numerous old houses in Iowa and, after they retired, helped him build a two-story log cabin in Colorado, all by hand.
A gifted seamstress and craftswoman, she has handstitched and hand-quilted dozens of heirloom quilts.
She has always been the reliable person that everyone depends upon to help at church and club events, always coming to the rescue
when others need help.
Donnis Schneider is one of countless unsung Midwestern heroines who quietly and constructively have made the world a better place. 4/24/94 |
