Sunday, September 5, 2021

Mrs. Bromige Revealed


I've just emerged from an Internet rabbit hole prompted by the TV show "Mrs. America," which Dave and I watched again last night. I scared up some online footage of Phyllis Schlafly and her anti-ERA campaigns, as well as "Free To Be, You and Me," the Marlo Thomas-produced TV special from 1974 that helped promote gender equality. I vividly remember "Free To Be, You and Me," as we used to sing the theme song in elementary school music class. I wonder if our teacher, Ms. Simmons, meant to be a revolutionary? And I wonder if there was any parental blowback? I wasn't aware of any, but then, I was in second or third grade.

Anyway, we're really liking "Mrs. America."

Yesterday was mostly a day to catch up on domestic chores like laundry. I finished "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry," my latest Newbery read, which was very good -- I can happily recommend it to kids who want a somewhat sophisticated novel. And out in the street, we had this going on...



...beginning promptly at 9 a.m. I shot that video out our front window. The Middle Eastern music coming from the white van was an interesting touch -- I wish I could have heard it more clearly without all the machinery! In addition to the guy visibly working in the video, there was some heavy equipment digging up the street beyond that tree.

I feel like this project to install broadband will never end -- it's been going on for weeks, although admittedly it's somewhat conflated in my mind with a nearly simultaneous project to lay new water pipes. Our street has been torn up and repaved and torn up again.

In the afternoon I took Olga to the cemetery, where I was able to get an answer to a question raised earlier on this blog.


Last week I posted a picture of the gravestone of Charles Absalom Bromige, in admiration of his name, and lamented that we couldn't see the name of his wife because it was buried. Well, yesterday I brought a trowel along on our walk and was able to excavate enough dirt and roots away from the stone to reveal that Mrs. Bromige was named Eliza Margaret, and she died in 1952 at the age of 89. That means Margaret was actually a couple of years older than Charles, which is interesting -- so often in marriages of an earlier era, it seems, the husband was older than the wife.

And now, back to reading about Second Wave feminism. Speaking of which, did I ever mention the time I went to see Rita Moreno perform a cabaret act in New York, in 2004? It was at Feinstein's at the Regency, a well-known cabaret club on Park Avenue, and it was in the middle of a blizzard so there weren't many people there. I was with a co-worker, and as we sat eating and waiting for the show we gradually realized that the women at the next table were Marlo Thomas, Gloria Steinem, Elaine May and Letty Cottin Pogrebin, most if not all of whom were associated with the feminist movement and the founding of Ms. magazine. I was practically paralyzed, being in the presence of people I admired so much! It was a true New York moment.

(Top photo: An artificial flower, discarded in the cemetery.)

35 comments:

Moving with Mitchell said...

I did the same as you while watching Mrs. America. Ugh, construction noise. Right now, we have none. Rare around here. What an amazing New York Moment that will never be forgotten.

gz said...

If only they could sort out one underground channel, even if they put different services in conduit for safety!

An interesting surname. Wonder where that came from, could be an interesting history.

Sharon said...

I love your NY moment and given that I know how compact that room is, I'm guessing you could have reached out and touched at least one of them. I attended a Linda Eder concert there once and I felt like Ms. Eder was standing right at my table.

Anonymous said...

You don't have broadband already? What do you have?
I think men having female partners a couple of years younger is still the normal.

Colette said...

Wow! How exciting it must have been to sit next to such women.

Mary said...

Thanks for showing Eliza Margaret's name. Nameless no longer.
Great New York moment. My NY moment was finding Neil Armstrong sitting at a table next to mine--this was just a couple of years after the moon landing.
Sympathize with you on the noise. The guy behind us has spent weeks cutting up a cabin cruiser (boat) with a saw...ultimate in 'you can't fix stupid.'

Ms. Moon said...

I think I would go mad if I had to listen to that noise all day long. Really, Steve- that's awful.
What an amazing evening that must have been in NY! Can you imagine how it would be now? You'd be surreptitiously taking photos with your phone and sending them out to the world. Or maybe not. But you could!
I once ate dinner at a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Denver near the DU campus and Allan Ginsburg was also eating there a few tables down. I was thrilled!

Anonymous said...

It was so kind of you to uncover that name on the gravestone. I'm shouting out gratitude on behalf of Charles and Eliza.
What a fantastic group of women to be seated next to. Wow!

Red said...

I wonder how much of the cabaret you got when you sat near the famous people?

ellen abbott said...

and you didn't go to their table and express your admiration?

as for the street being torn up over and over, at least you don't have a car and have to deal with it.

Debby said...

That's nice that you went back and did a little digging around on Mrs. Bromige. Did you get a chance to speak with the people at the next table? I couldn't have restrained myself, although I would have spent a lot of time running over in my head what I wanted to say, succinctly but respectfully, so as not to interrupt them. Which would have caused me to miss most of the show. I'm such a weirdo.

Edna B said...

I agree, it was nice of you to dig out the bottom of the grave stone to learn of the wife's name. I think old gravestones are so very interesting. I love the story of your night out to dinner. I, too, would have been too flabbergasted to say anything. Just being there must have made you feel so very special. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.

Margaret said...

Do you think she went by Margaret or Eliza? Asking for a friend...;)

Kelly said...

I had forgotten all about Phyllis Schlafly (my autocorrect doesn't like that name) until you mentioned that show the other day. Speaking of shows, what a powerhouse group to be seated next to! I'm currently watching "The History of the Sitcom" and it has been excellent. So many of them I watched at face value, never really appreciating the statement they made.

Ellen D. said...

Thanks for digging up Eliza Margaret's name for us. When I was a kid, my Dad used to like to take us for drives in the country and we always stopped if we spotted an old cemetery. We would race through searching for the oldest grave we could find. It was like a scavenger hunt and always interesting! Thanks for bringing back that fun memory for me!

The Bug said...

Whoa - that was a very cool NYC moment!

That was a long time for Mrs. Bromige to be a widow. Well, 16 years - I guess that's actually not THAT long. It seemed like 1952 was ages away from 1936, but I guess not!

Elizabeth said...

Wow! That was an amazing "sighting," as we call it in Los Angeles! It's so sweet to think of you digging clear that woman's name.

Steve Reed said...

It's impossible to watch that show and not want to read about the real backstory, to see how accurate it all is.

Steve Reed said...

It does seem ridiculous that these different utilities all have to do their own street work. Couldn't they collaborate and do it all at once?

Steve Reed said...

They were close enough that we could hear them talking, though I don't think we heard the subject of their conversation. That's what first clued us in to who they were -- we heard Marlo Thomas's distinctive speaking voice!

Steve Reed said...

We DO have broadband -- at least I think we do -- so what this is supposed to achieve is a mystery to me!

Steve Reed said...

It was amazing. One of my best New York experiences.

Steve Reed said...

Well THAT's a pretty amazing New York moment too! Holy cow! Who cuts up an entire boat with a saw?!

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, it's funny how significant moments like that would pass with no photographic record because cameras weren't nearly as ubiquitous as they are now. I can't imagine being famous these days. It must be exhausting to know you're going to land on Instagram every time you go out.

Steve Reed said...

It was amazing! We didn't recognize Pogrebin -- I only figured her out the next day after looking her up. But the others I knew right away!

Steve Reed said...

Actually, I remember the show really well, and Rita Moreno came and spoke to us after her performance. As I said, there were very few people there, so she may have felt an obligation to greet us, given that we'd come out in a blizzard! She also spent time at the famous table. I'm sure she knew all those women.

Steve Reed said...

NO! It's a cardinal rule in New York that you never approach famous people if you see them out and about. :)

Steve Reed said...

I didn't talk to them at all. I wanted to respect their right to have a quiet evening out. Honestly, it was exciting enough to be sitting next to them.

Steve Reed said...

Yes, that's how it felt -- their mere presence was enough!

Steve Reed said...

Margaret, OF COURSE!

Steve Reed said...

That sounds like an interesting show! When you mention "statements" I immediately think of shows like "All in the Family" and "Maude."

Steve Reed said...

Cemeteries can be fascinating. It's cool that you used to stop -- it probably helped give you a real sense of local history.

Steve Reed said...

A lot happened between those years, that's for sure. I often think of my great-grandmother, who was born in 1880-something and died in 1974. Imagine how much change she saw during her lifetime!

Steve Reed said...

It WAS amazing. You must have some good "sightings" to report too!

Sabine said...

Many thanks for revealing Eliza Margaret to the living!