Madison mourns the loss of three lovers of art, literature, community
Madison has lost three of its very good friends. They were very diverse personalities, but they shared a love of Madison and through their lives made it a better place to live. Sara Whitworth, Robin Brewer and Helen Lee have passed away since the beginning of this year.
Sara Whitworth was born in Huntsville and had lived in Madison since 1952. Perhaps ahead of her time, she founded Whitworth Realty in 1975. Once, when asked what she thought was the main force behind Madison's growth, she replied "Huntsville International Airport." She personally viewed Madison's rapid growth from her front row seat on Main Street. Within the past few years, Sara opened Whitworth Art Gallery.
"Miss Sara" will be sorely missed in Madison, especially along Main Street. A walk down her block won't be the same without her asking me in "to visit a little while," with her and Lucy, her beloved Jack Russell terrier.
Robin Hall Brewer purchased a dilapidated, falling-down, ramshackle of an antebellum house and somehow managed to carve a museum out of it. Shortly before she purchased the house at 16 Main Street, it had been used as a haunted house for a Halloween fundraiser.
After much restorative work and sweat, Clay House Museum opened its doors in 2002. Some of the remodeling work was contracted out to others, but Robin did a lot of the work herself.
Originally, Clay House Museum showcased Robin's massive Noritake China collection. Community clubs had a new meeting place. Several murder mystery supper parties and plays were held there, as well as bridal and baby showers and receptions. It later transitioned to an art museum, giving local artists a place to display their art - something Madison had never had before.
The Clay House Museum, along with the Main Street Caf/, Whitworth Gallery and the other downtown businesses, brought people back to downtown. With the Clay House as an anchor on the west end, we finally had a good reason to walk down Main Street.
One of Robin's favorite things was sitting in a rocking chair on her front porch. I'll miss sitting there talking with her, being quiet when the train went by, then talking again as soon as the train passed. I know I'll definitely miss seeing her dad, Harold Hall, out mowing her yard.
Helen Lee served as librarian of the Madison Public Library from June 2003 until her death in January. Not to take away from the accomplishments of librarians before her, but the Madison library soared with Helen's leadership. It became a full-service library.
She brought the concept of book clubs to Madison. Book clubs had long been established at the Huntsville library, but not in Madison. Simply put, Helen loved books.
She developed an excellent reference book area by visiting all the Madison schools to find out what the students needed. She always tried to make sure multiple copies of required reading were available.
The Helen P. Lee Memorial Endowment, established by the Friends of the Madison Public Library with an initial contribution of $5,000, now totals $19,000. Books purchased with this endowment will stay in Madison. The books can be checked out from other branches, but they will eventually come back to Madison. Special bookplates on the inside front cover mark these books as being part of this endowment.
Helen's coworkers are still reeling from her death; they did not even know she was sick. Robin had been sick since 2005, but I never heard a complaint or had any indication she was not feeling well until late in 2007. Sara was active in her business and community until the last several weeks of her life - frequently exercising at a local fitness center. Courage during bleak days was something else these three women obviously shared.
According to an old wives' tale, events occur in threes. The events can be either good or bad, as in "good things happen in threes" or "bad things happen in threes." I choose to look on the positive side and in this case, I believe that good things happen in threes. These three women's lives helped shape Madison into the community it is today.
