In 1967, the ‘adventures’ of a housewife made news
Let’s go back to a time when papers had a women’s section.
On Wednesday, May 31, 1967, that section of the Houston Post — called Woman’s World — led off with a photo feature on young Houston transplant Dvorah Markman, described as a housewife and a mother to two preschoolers. Six days a week, Markman tended to her duties raising kids and keeping house. But on Wednesdays, when the cleaning lady dropped by, she set aside time for herself.
“That’s the day she pushes the pooch outside to get some sun, takes her two preschoolers for a short stroll to be ‘sat with’ by a neighbor, and has an adventure all by herself,” wrote reporter Kay Lanier.
On one particular Wednesday, a photographer tagged along as Markman checked out an art exhibit, dropped by the hairdresser, shopped at a boutique, browsed the poetry section at a bookstore and had Chinese food for lunch.
I plucked these photos from the Post archive recently, partly because I wanted to see what Markman thought of that experience and also because I was curious to know how things turned out 49 years later.
After this much time, I guess it should come as no surprise that a little story like that slipped from her memory.
“I was trying to think, and I don’t really know,” she told me. “I think I may have known some- one who worked for the paper, but I’m not sure.”
Lanier also had dim memories of the article but made note of that time in America when it was published.
“It was a time of change in terms of the image of the housewife,” Lanier, a Dallas- area writer and Realtor, said recently. “It was a time where there really was a lot of controversy regarding a woman’s role as a wife and mother.”
Such notions didn’t cross Markman’s mind back then. “It was just a getaway,” she said. “It was a lovely opportunity to explore the city.”
Markman and her then-hus- band didn’t stay too long in Houston. The couple moved to Boston, back to Houston for a bit, then to Long Island and finally settled in Los Angeles, where they divorced. She would then embark on a career as a lawyer. These days, she practices f amily law and mediation.
It’s been a winding road for that woman who set out on little weekly excursions in Houston. Now 75 and still active, the grandmother of four is pretty happy with how things turned out.
“I’ve been fortunate in my life,” she said.