Last updated on March 8th, 2023 at 06:05 pm
When Jen and I first talked about starting this blog, one of the main reasons was to share the lessons of those that came before us. Some of those lessons were about beauty, others about fashion. But the most important lessons of all were just about family. The struggles, the victories, the happy times and the sad times. International Women’s Day is the perfect time for you to meet Grandma Rose, one of the original “Harper Girls”.
On my side of the family, my mom was the first generation born in the US. All four of my grandparents and my dad immigrated here. They even came through Ellis Island. My grandparents all have their unique stories. But it’s the story of my maternal grandmother, Grandma Rose, that is the perfect tale to tell for Women’s History Month. She was the original tough lady. The story of how she immigrated from Switzerland and made a life for herself in America is one that has inspired me my entire life. I always wanted to be tough like her.
So, today we tell the story of Grandma Rose and celebrate her. You may have noticed the rose in our logo. The rose is there for a reason. And the reason is that there’s a little bit of “Rose” in all of the Harper Girls. Jen and I share the middle name of Rose, and Jen carried it down to her daughter, Emeline Rose. And while we carry her name, we also carry her spirit!
About “Harper Girl”, Rosina (Rose) Hostettler
Born in Switzerland
Rosina (Rose) Hostettler was born in Bern, Switzerland in 1891. She was the 12th child of her father, Niklaus, by his second wife, also Rosina. Unfortunately, her mother died in childbirth so she never got to know her. Her father remarried and had five more children with her stepmom, Marie.
It’s a little fuzzy about what happened next. Rose left the family farm in Switzerland and moved to France around the age of sixteen. Legend has it that there was some sort of falling out. As far as we know, she moved by herself, and without fear. She got a job as a “governess” (she would be called a nanny today). It’s unclear how long she lived in France but we know she also spent time living and working in London. In November of 1914 she boarded a ship with two of her brothers from LeHavre, France bound for New York City. She was just 23 years old, still fearless and undaunted.
Grandma Rose in the early days. What I love about the photo on the right is that it says “Ideal Studios, 516 Oxford Street”, which confirmed that she lived in London. I discovered online through the UK’s National Archives that the photo studio did exist!
Coming to America
I know that she was a housekeeper and again a governess after she arrived in New York, but eventually she would work for The Good Housekeeping Institute. She would meet and marry my grandfather somewhere between 1914 and 1930 because my mom was born in November 1930. She was excited to have a family of her own, but, to her dismay, it didn’t last. In 1936, my grandparents separated when my mom was just six years old. (He passed away in 1946, so I never met him.) Rose became a pioneer as a “single mom”, having to work hard again to raise her daughter. She didn’t really want to be a pioneer. Although deciding to separate was difficult, especially for the times, she believed in self-respect and if it meant having to go it alone, then so be it.
My grandmother never remarried. She had moved on to an amazing career as a cook at the Good Housekeeping Institute and served the Duke of Windsor, Eleanor Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and Margaret Truman as well as famous authors and business executives. Good Housekeeping magazine even wrote about her in one of their issues. We featured one of her best recipes – for macaroni and cheese in a another blog post. You can get the recipe HERE.
As you can imagine, my grandmother and mom were extremely close, especially since it was just the two of them for so long. When my parents got married, the newlyweds moved into the same apartment building in New York so that my mom and grandma could just be a couple of floors apart. In 1960 they moved from the city to the suburbs in New Jersey. My grandmother, who was now retired, came to live with us and stayed until her death at age 92 in 1983.
Lessons for the Future
I wish I had asked her more specific questions about her past, especially about how she felt during the tough times she experienced. But I can tell you this, I never heard her complain. Grandma Rose was proud of many things. The fact that she worked hard for her family, that she spoke three languages and that she was able to maintain family ties with many of her sbilings despite being an ocean apart. She loved her life, no matter what was thrown her way. That’s a great lesson for all of us.
Want one of Grandma Rose’s favorite recipes? Then you need to check our her macaroni and cheese recipe!
Do you have a story about a special woman in your life? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below.
Loved this story. Ironically, I found out so many things about my mother’s childhood during the years Hitler invaded France. Things I didn’t know about, many of which made me understand her so much more! The things she saw and the struggles she faced as a child were mind boggling, the fact that she had to wait in a food line with a ration card for a single food item every day was something I did not know. It made me appreciate her 87 years of strength, wisdom and soft-spoken and reserved nature!
Hi Sandy! Thanks for reading the post.! It’s amazing, isn’t it, to learn about the past? Things we didn’t know but make sense when you combine the past with who they are today! It was there all along!
Dianne– I love the story of your Grandma. I never knew mine. I think your Grandma and my mom had something in common– my mom did not feel welcome at her home when her mom died (my mom was in college.) So she took off and traveled the world. Like your Grandma. Fierce women! I think we never know the resources we actually have until we are tested like they were. And we have been. I have been tested– and drew on the strength I know my mom passed onto me. No doubt you have Rose’s strength in you too! Good luck with this fun new venture of yours!
Annie – thanks so much! Fierce women is right! Like you, I’d like to think that our mom and grandma’s strength is passed down to us. I’ve had to draw on that strength as well. We don’t know we have it until we need it. It’s like they secretly planted it in us!