iv - Jeanette Kathryn Rohrer
Ma had received the loving care and companionship of her only daughter,
Jeanette, since about 1921 when Jeanette came back home after her marriage failed.
Little is on record about Jeanette’s life. She was born January 31, 1896, the
third child of Will and Claribel. At the age of 14 she was baptized at Cumberland’s
First Baptist Church. How far she went in school is not known. In her young
womanhood she was popular and active in “society," and was once characterized as
“one of Cumberland’s most attractive and vivacious blondes." On her twentieth
birthday, January 31, 1916, she married James Mazeene in a small, private ceremony
“of much charm" at her parents’ home on Fulton Street. The couple then moved to
City Point, Virginia, near Hopewell, where James held “a responsible position" with
the Dupont Powder Company.8 Later they lived in Charleston, West Virginia. The
marriage was short-lived. Jeanette came back to Cumberland to live with her parents,
who were now residing with L. D. at 16 Baltimore Avenue. Jeanette and James were
divorced, she resuming her maiden name.
Grandpap was up in years and recently widowed, Will had left town, Ma was
not in the best of health. Grandpap’s financial condition had forced him to dismiss
his servants. Someone had to manage the Rohrer household, and it naturally fell to
Jeanette. She became housekeeper, cook, maid and nurse. She would soon add the
job of part-time nanny to her new little nephew, Billy Rohrer.
Despite the nature and volume of her work, Jeanette was not the stereotypical
drudge. While she dressed appropriately for her chores, she was a fashion plate when
the occasion required. A liberated woman of the Roaring Twenties, she wore the
stylish flapper styles, bobbed and bleached her hair, smoked cigarettes.
Jeanette had many acquaintances and several close friends. I remember
glamorous Laura Small Cooke and her husband Ben; cute, blonde Betty Biddle, who
married Ray Coffman; and Madeleine Biddle. Most colorful of her girlfriends was
Hester “Het" Davidson, a rather tall, robust woman with a big voice and a bigger
laugh. She was famous for the remark: “I’ll just take the money, kid!" when asked
by a boyfriend what she wanted for her birthday. Jeanette had fun with the line,
mimicking Het’s voice and manner. Jeanette’s longtime boyfriend was Dell
14
8Cumberland Evening Times article, James R. Mazeene Weds Miss Rohrer, Feb 1, 1916.
