“Be good to people, you will be remembered more for your kindness than any level of success you can obtain.” Mandy Hale
Sometimes you have to look back to see how far we have come. This was evident on my recent tour of Bonniebrook, Rose O’Neill’s Taney County home. Rose O’Neill (1874-1944) is best known for her magazine illustrations, especially her Kewpie dolls. Kewpie characters made their debut in 1909 in the Ladies’ Home Journal, 109 years ago.
Rose O’Neill became one of the highest paid magazine illustrators of her time, quite an accomplishment because women were thought to be inferior artist to men. Initially, Rose did not include her first name in her signature as not to identify her as a woman. Her work stood on its own and Rose became a sought after magazine illustrator and usually the only woman on the magazine’s staff. It’s difficult to imagine now but many of the New York office buildings only had restrooms for males. During that era women could be jailed for voting and weren’t allowed to run for office. Society norms had women in tight corsets, so tight that women would faint. Sandals and painted toenails were taboo. Rose used her considerable fame and influence to campaign for women’s right to vote by giving speeches and creating illustrations for the suffragist cause.
Rose’s personal philosophy documented in her autobiography was “Do good deeds in a funny way. The world needs to laugh or at least smile more than it does.” Good advice then and pertinent today. This was the basis of her Kewpie cartoons. The Kewpies were there to help and teach children and adults better ways to live. Common themes in Rose’s work included supporting racial equality and advocating for the poor; no surprise since Rose grew-up poverty stricken.
Rose led a kind life. She supported her family for years. She helped many artists and writers and opened her home to them sometimes for years. She paid for everyone in the community to be immunized against smallpox. She generously gave money to her readers when they wrote to her asking for money. Her generosity left her destitute in her final years but did not crush her loving spirit.
If you have ever thought that one person can’t make a difference take a tour of Bonniebrook with Susan Scott. Rose’s O’Neill’s life will come to life and hopefully Bonniebrook will inspire you as much as it inspired Rose O’Neill. We all can do something to further human rights and we all can be more generous and kind. What can you do to be ahead of our time? Thank you to all the volunteers at Bonniebrook that keep Rose’s O’Neill’s life and memories of her kind spirit alive. To find out more, visit the Bonniebrook Facebook page: Click here or webpage: Click here.
Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com I love hearing your kindness stories. Please sign-up for almost weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook!
