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Once upon a time, in 1981, a woman named Ann
Arens and her husband Dave moved to the little
foothill town of Auburn. Ann had a 15-month-old
daughter and another baby on the way and for the
first time in her life found herself without family
or friends nearby. To add to the loneliness, Ann
had always lived in a neighborhood, where even
a stranger was close by. But now, as she looked
out her windows at the lovely rolling hills. Panic
would occasionally take grip as she wondered if
she could make the 3-acre hike to her next-door
neighbor's if the baby should arrive early. Every
Monday morning her husband made the commute to
the Bay Area to work, where he stayed during the
week, returning home only on the weekends. Needless
to say, this added to Ann's sense of loneliness.
Knowing that wallowing in her sorrow was no solution,
Ann decided to attend a meeting provided by the
hospital for "new moms" in order to
seek out friends and support. After their first
meeting, however, Ann realized that the "new"
parenting group was not for her. She needed to
talk with others who were going through the same
trying times of toddlerhood, as well as the birth
of a new child.
Being a woman of vision and driven by the need
to remain sane, Ann and two other moms from the
hospital formed Mountain Moms and Little Folks.
First to be slated as "Merry Moms,"
it was decided that toddlerhood did not always
a "merry" mom make! The first years
were tough as membership grew from 3 to 5 to 12
to 20. But through the persistence of Ann and
her friends, the creation of the Board of Directors,
the publishing of a newsletter, and a heartfelt
desire to help other moms in other situations,
this group has blossomed and grown. For the past
30 years, Mountain Moms has served as an educational,
charitable, and social fun organization for over
800 families.
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