My mother was born out of wedlock in 1922 and adopted by Jew Max Harris and his Kaw-Osage wife Louisa Victoria Hardy. Mom was raised as a Jew until she was about 11 when Max and Louisa divorced. I never understood my mother's religious feelings until I finally understood some of her Jewish childhood in Oklahoma City. With DNA and records search I have learned that my birth grandfather was George Dewey Dye Sr. and my birth grandmother was 14 year old Nettie Rutherford. I have since been in contact with both sides of my birth grandparents' families. I began using Dye in my name, only on Facebook. I wish I could incorporate my Rutherford name too but that's impractical. I favor and support adoption because I wouldn't be here without it but it's not the only path open. Over my lifetime I've had friends who were adopted and had a miserable experience because the parents who adopted them had no business having children. So everything is ultimately a gamble. My mother had a reasonably good life but with a lot of craziness in it. A man in Pawhuska once told my brother that at one time my mother was struggling so badly that he had to buy food for us. But my mom was a great mom and hung on through all the struggles of a single mother. Remember that a single woman couldn't even get a credit card in her own name until 1974? I wish my mother were here for this mother's day because there is much left unsaid. I wish you a happy mother's day.
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