# 61 - No One Dreamed This Woman Would Carry The Olympic Torch!

Hello Bregdan Woman!

Ginny today…

I so love the Bregdan Woman I’m about to introduce you to. Did I meet her? No. But she has stayed in my heart from the moment I learned about her many years ago.

I first heard about her when I read about the unlikely candidate to carry the famed Olympic torch through a part of Mississippi toward the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Instead of running, 88-year-old Osceola McCarty walked – slowed by advanced arthritis.

There was a motorcycle policeman on either side of Osceola to support the torch she was holding when she became too tired to hold it aloft herself. The crowds cheered while she smiled and beamed.

Osceola never dreamed such an honor would be hers. She didn’t dream of any of the honors heaped on her in the years after. But wait – I’m getting ahead of myself.

Osceola McCarty had a raw beginning. She was conceived when her mother was raped on a wooded path in rural Mississippi. She was raised by her grandmother and aunt. She had dreams of being a nurse when she was a little girl growing up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

When she was in elementary school she would come home and iron clothes, stashing the money in her doll buggy to help the family.

Her dreams of being a nurse were shattered when her aunt returned home from a hospital stay, unable to walk. Osceola dropped out of 6^th grade to care for her and take up her work as a laundress. She never went back to school.

That big black kettle, boiling away under the relentless Mississippi sun, pelting rain, or cold winds, became her existence. You could find her, from early in the morning until late in the evening, either washing clothes or stooped over a hot iron as she crisped them up.

She couldn’t possibly have dreamed what the future would hold…

At some point she became content with her life. She loved her work, but she thought about what education would have meant to her if she could have stayed in school.

Osceola buried her grandmother, then her mother, then her aunt. And she kept right on washing and ironing. 75 years worth.

She lived alone. She walked everywhere she went. She didn’t talk much because there was no one to listen She simply worked.

With the exception of the monthly trip she made to the bank to deposit money for her future.

In 87 years, she had only been out of Mississippi once.

So how did this elderly black woman end up carrying the Olympic torch?

It began with that monthly bank trip.

She’d decided to retire at 87 because the arthritis in her hands had gotten too painful for the hard manual labor she performed. The bank officers suggested she should make plans about what she was going to do with all her money.

She didn’t know what they were talking about. All her money?

Yes. 75 years of savings, of putting away small amounts of money, had grown to $280,000!

I wish I could have been with her in the bank – in her head – when she realized she was actually a wealthy woman.

How do you think you would have responded?

Osceola’s decision about her fortune definitely makes her stand out as a Bregdan Woman!

She decided to give most of it away – not when she died - but immediately. She set aside some for her future, gave some to relatives, and then took action to make some dreams come true.

Osceola donated $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to fund scholarships for worthy, but needy, students seeking that education she never had.

When the people of Hattiesburg found out what she had done, over 600 men and women made donations that more than tripled her original endowment.

Today, in 2024, the university presents 3 - 5 full-tuition McCarty scholarships every year. How cool is that??

As of 2024, more than 125 students have received scholarships.

Osceola wanted the scholarship to go to some child whose family couldn’t afford to give them an education. In her words… "I'm too old to get an education, but they can."

Think about what she did.

What will these 125+ students do to impact history with their education? With their knowledge that someone cared enough to make their own dreams a realilty? What will their offspring do? And theirs? The ripples throughout history will be endless.

One of the scholarship recipients says it best:

“Being selfless, being able to give everything you worked for to someone that you don’t even know and would never ever see. It’s just wonderful, being able to go through that program knowing I was able to have her support even though she’s not here with us anymore. It inspires me to be the best I can be!”

It started with the first recipient, Stephanie Bullock. She was a top student and President of her class, but her family couldn’t afford college for both her and her twin brother. Osceola’s gift made her college dream possible.

Along the way, Osceola was adopted by the family. Stephanie considered her another grandmother until Osceola died four years later in 1999 at the age of 91.

Osceola never dreamed of the uproar her gift would cause. Nor the honors that would be heaped on her – meeting President Clinton; numerous awards; an honorary doctorate from Harvard University; the keys to cities; travel across America; and so much more.

Osceola simply wanted what she had worked so hard for her entire life - to make a difference for others. Her philosophies of life were simple and powerful.

If you asked her about work: "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."

If you asked her about saving money: "A smart person plans for the future. You never know what kind of emergency will come up, and you can't rely on the government to meet all your needs. You have to take responsibility for yourself."

You see, success in life means different things to different people.

Success to Osceola meant working hard, saving her money, and in the end – making a difference to others.

She never had much as far as material things, but when she died, she was rich beyond belief in all the things that truly mattered.

She had another saying I love.

“I can’t do everything. But I can do something to help somebody. And what I can do I will do!”

Here’s one more of Osceola’s beliefs:

She was asked about good living. This was her answer. "There's a lot of talk about self-esteem these days. It seems pretty basic to me. If you want to feel proud of yourself, you've got to do things you can be proud of. Feelings follow actions."

There’s one thing I’m very sure of. Osceola lived a life of hope and joy. Oh sure, I’m sure she had bad days, but she made the Choice to choose joy and hope as she lived her simple life. A simple life, that when she least expected it, catapulted her to fame.

I love the fact that Osceola got to travel, meet the U.S. president and carry the Olympic Torch – all because she wanted to give someone the chance she never had.

The thing that is even more wonderful is that I know if none of the recognition had ever come to her, she would have continued to live her life of quiet hope and joy.

She was definitely a Bregdan Woman!

Here’s a question for you to think about today…

What makes a great life for you?

Too many people never answer that question for themselves. They let the world define success for them, and then wonder why they’re dissatisfied with the results of their life.

If you want to be a Bregdan Woman, I encourage you to take some time and discover the answer for YOUR life.

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What will you do to be a Bregdan Woman?

What will you do today to impact history??

We’re on this journey with you… (and have 2 FREE Gifts for you below…)

Ginny & Suess

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