On July 15, 1953, The Birmingham Post-Herald reported that “a busy Birmingham clubwoman and housewife” had just learned her entry was chosen and had been adopted as the new Alabama Creed.
Mabel Cook Thetford, referred to in the article only as Mrs. H.P. Thetford as was customary at the time, had been notified the day before that the Alabama House of Representatives passed a resolution adopting her creed. The Senate followed the next month.
Marie Bankhead Owen, the state’s archivist, decided it was time for Alabama to have one and, in conjunction with the Alabama Federation of Women’s Clubs, sponsored a contest. The United States adopted a creed in 1917 and was soon followed by most states.
Thetford, who had held various offices in the Federation of Women’s Clubs and was a member of the Red Cross and Community Chest, won $5 for having the winning entry.
Mabel Thetford was the author of the Alabama state creed. This photo of her appeared in The Birmingham Post-Herald in 1953, when the creed was adopted.Birmingham Post-Herald
The article noted that Thetford was so busy the day she got the news that she had been making kitchen curtains with an African violet print, and baking banana bread and pralines. “My goodness,” she told the reporter. “I’m not a writer. But I am pleased, of course, and very proud.”
Thetford said she was initially told by Owen that her creed was too long. When it was shortened and accepted, it said:
“I believe in Alabama, a state dedicated to a faith in God and the enlightenment of mankind; to a democracy that safeguards the liberties of each citizen and to the conservation of her youth, her ideals, and her soil. I believe it is my duty to obey her laws, to respect her flag and to be alert to her needs and generous in my efforts to foster her advancement within the statehood of the world.” Click here to read the resolution.
Thetford was married to Homer Paris Thetford, who was retired from Southern Railway. Mabel Thetford died in 1969 at age 81.
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Publish date : 2024-11-04 00:02:00
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