An Army of Normal Folks - Osceola McCarty: The Generous Washerwoman

Episode Date: April 11, 2025

For Shop Talk, Coach Bill tells the story of Osceola McCarty, the washerwoman who donated $150,000 to a school she never visited.  Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody, it's Bill Courtney. Welcome to Shop Talk Number 48. Welcome into the shop. I did not ring that bell. Alex's son, George, is in the shop. What's up, George? You gotta say something, dude. Say hi. Say hi louder. Hi, how are you? Say hi. Say hi louder. Hi, how are you? Do you like the shop? It's nice, isn't it? Actually ask George, what question did you ask

Mr. Bill coming in? Don't be shy. How many pieces of lumber? Yeah. Are on the yard and we figured about 600,000, right? So it's a big shop, isn't it? George Rangar Bell, everybody. George is Alex's youngest child and he's the official bell ringer today. George you're talking to thousands of people right now. You know what we're going to say? Welcome to the shop. Welcome to the shop.

Welcome to the shop. Today we're going to talk about generosity, humility, and how no matter who you are or where you come from, you can be dignified in your generosity and your humility. And O.C.L.O. McCarty and her generosity teaches us a story right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. I'm Israel Gutierrez and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions.

Today, the Warriors dynasty remains alive in large part because of a scrawny 6'2 Hooper who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Rushmore. Come revisit this magical warrior's ride. Listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule, never lick your thumb to clean their face, and

you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out.

Never happens before you leave the car. Always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Hi, I'm Sam Mullins, and I've got a new podcast coming out called Go Boy, the gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable. Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted.

Has spent 24 of those years in jail. But when Roger Caron picked up a pen and paper, he went from an ex-con to a literary darling. From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to Go Boy on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover

in a hell bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgar Hoover was furious. He was out of his mind and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees. Listen to Divine Intervention on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tickets are on sale now, y'all. For our 2025 iHeart Country Festival presented by Capital One happening Saturday, May 3rd at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Don't miss your chance to see Brooks and Don.

Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Cole Swindell, Sam Hunt, Megan Moroney, Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com. Welcome back everybody. I'm here with George and we're to talk. The other siblings are going to feel real left out right now. They're sitting in the room and you have not even acknowledged their presence. George is the official bell ringer but the truth is in the shop today we have all of

Alex's children. We've been introduced to George. Way too many of them. Yeah, way too many of them. We've been introduced to George. Introduce yourselves ladies. You gotta be loud, okay? I'm Ila. I'm Sophia Penelope. So there you have it. All four kids are in the shop today and we're going to talk about Osiella McCarty, a story I promise you, you've probably never heard. And we got the story from the philanthropy roundtable. Osiella McCarty was born in the world in 1908 and it was a raw start. She was conceived when her mother was raped on a wooden path in rural Mississippi as she

returned from tending to a sick relative. Osceola was raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi by her grandmother and aunt who cleaned houses, cooked, and took in laundry. As a child, she would come home from elementary school in iron clothes, stashing the money she earned in her doll buggy. The three women relied completely on each other, and when the aunt returned from a hospitalization unable to work, Oceala dropped out of sixth grade to care for her and take up her work as a washerwoman. She never returned to school. Work became the great good of her life, explained one person who knew her. She found beauty in its movement and pride in its provisions.

She was happy to have it and gave herself over to it with abandon. McCarty put it this way, I knew there were people who didn't have to work as hard as I did, but it didn't make me feel sad. I loved to work. And when you love to do anything, those things don't bother you. Sometimes I worked straight through two or three days. I had goals I was working toward that motivated me

and I was able to push hard. Work is a blessing. As long as I'm living, I want to be working at something. Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't work. And hers was not a standard issue job. McCarty scrubbed her laundry by hand on a rub board. She did try an automatic washer and dryer in the 60s but found that the washing machine didn't rinse enough and the dryer turned the whites yellow. After years of boiling clothes and then doing four freshwater rinses that wasn't good enough to meet her high standards, the machine was almost immediately retired and she went back to her made right scrubbered water drawn from a nearby fire hydrant and a hundred feet of open-air clotheslines. Asked to describe her typical day she answered, I would go outside and start a fire under my wash pot then I would soak wash and boil a hund a bundle of clothes then I would rub them wrench them rub them, wrench them, rub them again, starch them, and hang them on the line.

After I had all the clean clothes on the line, I would start on the next batch. I would wash all day, and in the evening, I'd iron until 11. I loved the work. The bright fire, wrenching the wet, clean cloth, white shirt shining on the line. This extraordinary Wortha ethic pursued straight through to her retirement at 86. Apparently produced results her customers appreciated. In 1996 Hattiesburg businessman Paul Laughlin wrote, I know one person who still has several shirts that were last cleaned almost two years ago by

Miss McCarthy. He said that he does not intend to wear them, he just takes them out periodically to look at them and to enjoy the crisp fabric and scent. McCarty concludes Laughlin was a walking object lesson that all work can be performed with dignity and infused with quality. Hard work gives your life meaning," stated McCarty. Everyone needs to work hard at something to feel good about themselves. Every job can be done well and every day has its satisfactions. If you want to feel proud of yourself, you've got to do things you

can be proud of. Shortly after she retired, McCarty did something that made many Americans very proud of her. She had begun to save almost as soon as she started working at the age of eight. As the money pulled up in her doll buggy, the very young girl took action. I went to the bank and deposited. Didn't know how to do it. Went there by myself. Didn't tell my mom and them I was going.

I commenced to save money. I never would take any of it out. I just put it in. It's not the ones that make the big money, but the ones who know how to save who get ahead. You gotta leave it alone long enough for it to increase. Of course, that requires self-control and modest appetites. My secret was contentment.

I was happy with what I had," said McCarty. These sturdy habits ran together to produce McCarty's final secret. When she retired in 1995, her hands painfully swollen with arthritis. This washerwoman, who had been paid in little piles of coins and dollar bills her entire life, who dropped out of school in sixth grade, had $280,000 in the bank. Even more startling, she decided to give most of it away, not as a bequest, but immediately. Setting aside just enough to live on, Bacardi donated $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to fund scholarships for worthy but needy students seeking the education she never had. When they found out what she'd done, over 600

men and women in Hattiesburg and beyond made donations that more than tripled her original endowment. Today, the university presents several full tuition McCarty scholarships every year. Like a lot of philanthropists, McCarty wanted the satisfaction of giving while living and she succeeded. The first beneficiary of her gift, a Hattiesburg girl named Stephanie Bullock, was president of her senior class and had supportive parents, but also a twin brother and not enough family income to send them both to college. With her McCarty scholarship, Bullock enrolled at Southern Miss and properly adopted McCarty as a surrogate grandmother.

Like a lot of philanthropists, McCarty felt a power impulsion to act in her home region. When asked why she picked Southern Miss, she replied, because it's here. The campus that she had never visited, not once in her life stepped foot on, was located only a couple blocks from her home. Prior to making her gift, Osiella's one long trip had been to Niagara Falls. Here's her recollection. Law. The sound of the water was like the sound of the world coming to an end. In the evening we spread blankets on the ground and ate picnic dinners. I met people from all over the world. On the return trip we stopped in

Chicago. I liked it but was ready to get back home. I missed the place where I belong, where I was needed and making a contribution. No place compares to the piece of earth where you've put down your roots. Like a lot of faithful philanthropists, Oceania McCarthy was forgiving. Reminded that the university she was giving her money to had been white only until 1960, she answered, they used to not let color people go there,

but now they do, and I think they should have it. Like a lot of philanthropists, Oceania McCarthy had a strong and virtuous character and good habits. She lived frugally, walking almost everywhere, including more than a mile to get her groceries. When she stayed in a hotel for the first time after coming to public attention, she made the bed before checking out. In addition to the dignity of work, McCarthy's satisfactions were the timeless ones, faith in God, family closeness, and love of locale.

One friend described McCarthy's face as simple as the Sermon on the Mount and as difficult to practice. She was baptized at age 13, dunked in a local pond while dressed in all white, a mixed blessing for someone who washed her clothes by hands. I start each day on my knees saying the Lord's Prayer. Then I get busy about my work," McCarthy told one interviewer. "'You have to accept God the best way you know how, and then he'll show himself to you.

And the more you serve him, the more able you are to serve him. Some people make a lot of noise about what's wrong with the world, and they are usually blaming somebody else. I think people who don't like the way things are need to look at themselves first. They need to get right with God and change their own ways. If everybody did that, we'd be all right. Like a lot of philanthropists, Joselo McCarty knew that giving is its own pleasure. When a journalist from People magazine asked her why she didn't spend the money she'd saved on herself, she answered with a smile

that thanks to the pleasure that comes from making a gift, I am spending it on myself. I'm proud that I worked hard and that my money will help young people who worked hard to deserve it. I'm proud that I worked hard and that my money will help young people who worked hard to deserve it. I'm proud that I'm leaving something positive for this world. My only regret is that I didn't have more to give. Like a lot of philanthropists, McCarty hoped to inspire others to similar acts, and she did.

In addition to the local outpouring that more than tripled her endowment, cable TV mogul Ted Turner decided to donate a billion dollars to charity after hearing her story. A billion dollars. He was quoted in New York Times saying, If that little woman can give away everything she has, then I can give a billion. And like a lot of flanstress, O.C.L. McCarty knew she didn't have to save the whole world. She cast her buckets down and fixed what was at hand. I can't do everything, but I can do something to help somebody. And what I can do, I will do. O.C.L. McCarty deserves to

be recognized not only for her own accomplishments but as a representative of millions of other everyday Americans who give humbly of themselves year after year. Sounds kind of like an army of normal folks she represents, Alex. As I read that to you guys, I challenge you to go to Google and look this woman up. It is the story of a washerwoman with a sixth grade education who worked from sunup to sundown, who gave of herself and at the end of the day saved over a quarter of a million dollars in quarters and dollars first in her buggy and then in the bank that gave to a university so that people that came from where she came could work hard and have an education. If you do not think

that average Americans can make a massive difference than you don't know the likes of an Oceania McCarty. So, shop talk number 48 is about generosity and humility and doing what you can where you can and recognizing that anything you do, if you do it with all you got, and you give, and you're it with all you got and you give and you're humble and you're generous, you never know how massive your contribution society can be. And if a sixth grade educated black woman from Hattiesburg Mississippi who wouldn't have even been admitted to the university prior to 1960 that she gave her money to

can change the world. What can each of us do? The other thing I really like that she said is after visiting Niagara Falls in Chicago, I'm saying, yeah, it was nice, but I want to be back in my little plot of land. Like, God's given us this plot of land that we're all called to, and what can we do there? And it's such a beautiful sentiment of hers. Yeah, it reminds me of the story, just grow where you are. Yeah, and that's what she did. So, Shop Talk number 48 is a call to me and to all of you. Recognize that you can do phenomenal things. You don't have to have do phenomenal things. You don't have to have great wealth. You don't have to have great education. You just be a normal person and do what you can where you are and you can

and change the world and inspire others. Maybe even a billionaire. I forgot about the Ted Turner part of the story. That was fascinating. I mean this woman eventually had Ted Turner give a billion dollars because of her. It's pretty amazing. All right, so if you like this shop talk, rate it and review it, share it with friends and on social, join the Army at NormalFolks.us, become a premium member there, and if you want to email me, email me anytime at bill at normalfolks.us. If you have an idea for a shop talk

and I think we have something to add, I'll certainly take it up. If not, I will always respond. Hey, I did that. You crushed it. Was that about right? Yeah. Finally.

That's it. You're just trying to show off to my kids that you know what you're doing. That's it. Me, Alex, and the four kids are leaving the shop It's just trying to show off to my kids that you know what you're doing. That's it. Me, Alex, and the four kids are leaving the shop. You think he's ready? I don't think he's ready to know what he's about to do.

He's about to do it. So it's time to go, George. What are you going to do? Hand balance. Yeah, that's right. We'll see you next week. I'm Israel Gutierrez, and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the We'll see you next week. Ronnie's 6'2 Hooper, who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Rush for.

Come revisit this magical warrior's ride. Listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. You say you never give into a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best.

You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. And I'll freeze. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens.

Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Hi, I'm Sam Mullins, and I've got a new podcast coming out called Go Boy, the gritty true story of how one man fought his way out of some of the darkest places imaginable. Roger Caron was 16 when first convicted. That spent 24 of those years in jail. But when Roger Caron picked up a pen and paper, he went from an ex-con to a literary darling.

From Campside Media and iHeart Podcasts, listen to Go Boy on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen to Go Boy on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild-haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover in a hell-bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgar Hoover was furious. He was out of his mind, and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees. Listen to Divine Intervention on the iHeart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 2025 I Heart Country Festival presented by Capital One happening Saturday, May 3rd at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Don't miss your chance to see Brooks and Dunn, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Cole Swindell, Sam Hunt, Megan Moroney, Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.