Julia Sneden
Julia Sneden was a writer, friend, wife, mother, Grandmother, care-giver and Senior Women Web's Resident Observer. Her career included editorial work for Sunset Magazine, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios as well as teaching. Julia was a passionate opponent of this country’s educational system, which she felt was floundering. She will be greatly missed as the heart of this website and this editor's friend of fifty years.
Julia Sneden's archive of articles.
Napkin Rings and Saving Ways
Julia Sneden writes: The fad for matched napkin rings has grown and nowadays even the catalogues feature such sets. They weren't meant for decor, and they certainly weren't meant to match. They were simply a means of identification that allowed us to reuse our napkins, usually for a week at a time. In the days before miracle laundry machines, before detergents with or without bleach, (never mind cold-water soaps or power boosters) people didn't toss napkins into the laundry after every meal. more »
Remembering ... On a Day Once Known as 'Decoration Day'
Julia Sneden writes: To me, they were just my big cousins, glamorous in their uniforms — so brave, so tall, so handsome — and it while I knew they were going off to danger, I never for a moment considered that they might not come back. It's right that we pause to remember the cost, and also right to look back and remember that they were often youngsters who fought as much for their own remembered good times as they did for that anomalous thing called "my country." more »
Love Your Library
Julia Sneden writes: I was at the checkout counter of a local supermarket last Saturday, watching as a pleasant woman rang up my groceries. In the brief pause as I wrote my check, the cashier turned to the youngster who was bagging the groceries. "Hey, do you know if the library is open today?" she asked. "Nah," the bagger replied scornfully. "I don’t do libraries. I can Google anything I need to know." more »
CultureWatch Book Reviews: Uprising by Sally Armstrong and Joan L. Cannon's New Poems
Julia Sneden reviews: Author Armstrong notes that "The new wave of change isn't about giving the 'little woman'" a fair shake or even about pushing reluctant regimes to adhere to hard-won international laws relating to women. "Together men and women are the two wings of a bird – both wings have to be not wounded, not broken, in order to push the bird forward." Cannon's new book of poetry, My Mind is Made of Crumbs, while dealing with pain and loss, others express the deep connection of their long and happy marriage. more »