Hello. My name is Sandie Nettles, and I am thrilled to be a member of the Assistance League of Tulsa. By sharing some of my childhood, you will understand why the Assistance League means so much to me.
I am the youngest of 6 children. My father had a 5th grade education. My mother was born blind. Mama and Daddy lived in Southern Missouri working on farms when they could find the work. Their first five children were born there. Mama wanted a better education for her children, and also for herself, so the family moved to St. Louis.
I think all of us got my father’s sense of humor. He used to talk about the family living in a ten room house when he and Mama first arrived in St. Louis with five children – actually it was a one room shack with a tin roof! They all lived there several years until they could save enough money to buy a house. Thank goodness my mother and father could see the good in absolutely everything. Because of their attitude, my brothers and sisters and I learned to work hard, and laugh even harder.
By the time I was born, Mama had completed high school and was taking college courses — all in braille! Although my father worked as a handy man and my mother worked at a large dry cleaners folding shirt boxes, we were a family on welfare.
Soon after I started to school, Mama told me that a lady from the Assistance League was going to pick the two of us up and take me shopping for new school clothes. REALLY? NEW CLOTHES? NEW SHOES? WOW!!!!
After that first year, each year whenever Mama would tell me that the lady from the Assistance League would be coming for me soon, I would sit on the front porch stoop waiting for her so I could be sure not to miss her. Sometimes that meant waiting for days and days, but I had faith that she would arrive, and she always did. I actually thought she was an angle! This same woman always picked us up and took us to Operation School Bell to get my new school clothes and shoes. Remarkably, if I saw that woman on the street today, I would recognize her. She meant that much to me!
I only recently found out that we have an Assistance League here in Tulsa. As soon as I found out, I joined. If I had only known sooner, I would have been here years ago. Now I can help some other child get their very own new school clothes!
