International Mother's Day Shrine

05/04/2025

Grafton’s International Mother’s Day Shrine announces its ‘Honored Mother” of 2025
GRAFTON—The International Mother’s Day Shrine is a National Historic Landmark and a shrine to all mothers everywhere. It is where Mother's Day began. The shrine is located at 11 East Main Street in historic downtown Grafton. Each year, the shrine names an “Honored Mother” as part of its observance of Mother’s Day.
The IMD Shrine’s Board of Trustees is pleased to announce Carolyn Sapp Spring of Grafton as the 2025 “Honored Mother.” Mrs. Spring, 82, has been a resident of Grafton for many years. She is the mother of a son and twin daughters. Like Ann Reeves Jarvis, the originator of Mother’s Day, Spring has known both the joys and heartbreak of motherhood.
Spring was announced as the Shrine’s 2025 Honored Mother on Sunday, May 4, at the annual Mother’s Tea. She was presented with a gift basket and will receive a special plaque on Mother’s Day.
Spring’s son, Tim, is the oldest of her children. He lost both legs to a flesh-eating bacteria. He was previously employed at the Rosewood Health Care Center. He contracted a flesh-eating bacteria and lost both his legs to that bacteria. He is now fitted with prosthetic legs that allow him to regain mobility.
Both her twins are now deceased. Her twins, Cindy and Mendy, were born in 1965. Unfortunately, Cindy contracted Meningococcal Meningitis, Encephalitis, and Cerebral Palsy at birth. She would never walk, talk, or be able to care for herself. West Virginia is one of the few states that would pay a family member to care for a child suffering from these illnesses. Carolyn was employed through the Coordinating Council for Independent Living (CCIL) to care for Cindy. This allowed Carolyn to keep her daughter at home and provide the 24/7 care she needed. Doctors were not optimistic that Cindy would live many years. However, with the loving care from her mother, Cindy lived to age 59, passing away on Nov. 5, 2024. Her remains were cremated. When her mom passes, Cindy’s ashes will be placed in the casket with her mom.
Carolyn married Clyde Spring, who served 13+ years in the military. He died in 2015 and is buried at the West Virginia National Cemetery at Pruntytown. Carolyn and Cindy will also be buried at the National Cemetery in future years.
Carolyn’s daughter, Mendy, married Tom McWilliams. Carolyn has two grandchildren, Kimberly McWilliams Murray and Isaac Allen Smeltzer. Carolyn has two great-grandchildren, Emily Grace Murray and Patrick Allen Murray. Many in the public will know Kim as she is an employee at Biggie's restaurant in Grafton. Mendy McWilliams suffered from Crohn’s disease and died from the disease on February 25, 2002. Her husband, Tim McWilliams, has also since died.
Carolyn is the daughter of the late Charles Sapp Jr. and Virginia Pratt Sapp. Her one brother and three sisters have all passed away. Her brother was Terry Lee Pratt. Her sisters were Sherry Ann Costlow, who died June 23, 2016; Mary Lou Boliner, who died Sept. 19, 2004; and Sandra Kay Sapp, who died Dec. 15, 1996.
In the community, Carolyn is a life member of the VFW Memorial City Post 3081 Ladies Auxiliary and a longtime member of the Grafton City Hospital Ladies Auxiliary.
Carolyn was selected as the Shrine’s 2025 “Honored Mother” based upon the care and love she has provided to her three children, especially the total care she provided to her incapacitated daughter, Cindy, for 59 years. Carolyn exemplifies the motherhood traits shown by Ann Reeves Jarvis, who bore at least 11 children (some say 14) with only four children surviving into adulthood. Mrs. Jarvis worked through her grief by forming Mother’s Work Clubs. Through these clubs, she taught other mothers good sanitation practices and worked to reduce the infant mortality rate in West Virginia. Mrs. Spring devoted her life to caring for a child who could not care for herself and being a mother to her other two children. Congratulations to Carolyn Sapp Spring, 2025 Honored Mother from the entity where Mother’s Day began in Grafton, West Virginia.
As “Honored Mother” is an annual award, anyone interested in nominating their mom to be named the 2026 “Honored Mother” can submit a typed letter of not more than 600 words in length, listing the name, address, and contact information of the nominee; the name and contact information of the nominator; and a brief writeup on why the nominee deserves to be selected as the “Honored Mother.” Mail nominations to the: International Mother’s Day Shrine, P.O. Box 513, Grafton, WV 26354. Nominees must be mothers and reflect the successful motherhood traits associated with honored mothers of current and prior years. Other selection guidelines and restrictions apply.

05/01/2025

Grafton prepares for the annual observance of Mother’s Day
GRAFTON—Mother's Day began in Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia. The first official observance was on Sunday, May 10, 1908, at what was then Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church. The church continued annual observances until its last service at the Main Street building on Jan. 7, 1967. The Andrews congregation became part of the Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist and moved to a new church home along Lucas Dairy Road, just off Route 50 in Grafton.
Not wanting to see the historic structure abandoned, a non-profit was chartered on May 15, 1962, to acquire ownership of the Andrews church property and convert it into a shrine to all mothers everywhere, honoring Anna Jarvis as the founder of Mother’s Day and Ann Reeves Jarvis as the originator. Today, the International Mother’s Day Shrine Board of Trustees owns and operates this National Historic Landmark.
It was here, when daughter Anna was 12 years old, that Mrs. Jarvis led a Sunday School lesson on mothers of the Bible and ended with a plea for someone, sometime, somewhere to establish a day honoring mothers.
When Mrs. Jarvis died in 1905, the church bell tolled 72 times, once for each year of her life. Standing at the foot of her mom’s grave, daughter Anna pledged to fulfill her mom’s wish for a Mother’s Day. On the second Sunday in May 1906, she had the Andrews church conduct a memorial service honoring Ann Reeves Jarvis for her service as a longtime Sunday School teacher and superintendent of the infant department at the church. In May 2007, the church informally honored mothers and passed a resolution supporting Anna’s drive to have the second Sunday of May recognized as Mother’s Day. Finally, on May 10, 1908, the church hosted the first official observance of Mother’s Day. They followed detailed instructions from Anna, outlining how the day was to be observed.
Following the success of the inaugural Mother’s Day in Grafton and an afternoon observance in Philadelphia, PA, Anna wrote state governors seeking proclamations recognizing the Second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day. She also contacted members of Congress and the President seeking official recognition of the new holiday. Some six years later, on May 8, 1914, the United States Congress approved a joint resolution endorsing the observance of Mother’s Day. On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued the national proclamation making Mother’s Day an official and recurring national holiday honoring all mothers. With this certification, Anna fulfilled her pledge to her mom and accomplished her mom’s dream of a national day honoring mothers. It all started in the little Appalachian town of Grafton, West Virginia. Here is where Mother’s Day began and where it continues.
The public is invited to the annual Mother’s Day observance at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 11. The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist will return to the historic structure at 11 East Main Street in downtown Grafton to conduct a service similar to the one that kicked things off on May 10, 1908. Following the annual service, the shrine will be open until 5 p.m. so the public can take tours and see where Mother’s Day began. Take a walk-through history at this National Historic Landmark.

06/15/2024

Honored Mother 2024—Barbara Bolyard of Grafton has been named the International Mother’s Day Shrine’s Honored Mother 2024. She is the mother of three children: Toby Bolyard, Todd Bolyard, and Troy Bolyard. Barbara was honored at a Mother’s Tea on May 4 and received a plaque at the annual Mother’s Day observance at 11 a.m. on May 12 at the Shrine.

06/15/2024

06/15/2024

Special Festival Hours
The International Mother's Day Shrine will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, 2024, and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2024, so attendees at the Grafton Monster Festival have opportunities to tour the Shrine to all mothers everywhere and see where Mother's Day began. While in Grafton for the festival, stop in and see us.

12/16/2023

International Mother’s Day Shrine will
host a Christmas open house on Sunday!

GRAFTON—The public is invited to a Christmas open house at the historic International Mother’s Day Shrine from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 17. This National Historic Landmark structure, at 11 East Main Street, downtown, is where the first official Mother’s Day service was conducted in 1908 at the request of the holiday’s founder, Anna Jarvis.

The Shrine grounds feature the community Christmas tree and other holiday decorations. The interior of the Shrine is also decorated for the Christmas season. Of those visiting the Shrine for the first time, it is surprising how many locals have never previously been inside the historic building. If you need a break from holiday shopping, visiting the Shrine’s holiday decorations can give you a break from the rigors of the holiday season. Listening to familiar and favorite Christmas tunes played on the Shrine’s pipe organ can be a relaxing retreat from holiday crowds packed into area shopping centers.

Do not miss this late-in-the-season opportunity to tour the Mother’s Day Shrine. While Shrine tours can be scheduled throughout the year, the Shrine will not be open regularly until April 2024. The Shrine stops regular open hours from late fall through early spring.

The entry-level lecture room also features a large collection of historic Grafton photos, many reflecting how the city looked when Anna Jarvis was growing up in Grafton and was influenced by the work of her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who taught Sunday School at the church for a quarter of a century.

Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church was dedicated in 1873 and served as a house of worship until 1967, when the congregation moved to the Church of the Good Shepherd. A nonprofit was chartered in 1962 and took ownership of the former church building, transforming it into an international shrine to all mothers everywhere, and a memorial to Anna Jarvis and Ann Reeves Jarvis. No church congregation has met weekly at the Shrine since the Andrews congregation left in 1967. Today, it is used for community events and functions, hosts the annual Mother’s Day observance, and is a community treasure everyone should visit.

05/07/2023

IMDS Honored Mother 2023 is named
Shown below Marvin Gelhausen, Chair of the International Mother's Day Shrine, presents a gift basket to Sabreena Weaver, the Shrine's Honored Mother 2023. Weaver was honored May 6 at the annual Mother's Tea. The Shrine is where Mother's Day began on May 10, 1908. It is a National Historic Landmark, a shrine to all mothers everywhere and a memorial to Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day and to her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who is listed as the "originator" of Mother's Day and as the first honored mother.

05/07/2023

Weaver named “Honored Mother of 2023” by International Mother’s Day International Mother's Day Shrine

GRAFTON—The International Mother’s Day Shrine at Grafton, where Mother’s Day began, is announcing its “Honored Mother of 2023.” Sabreena Weaver has been selected by the Shrine’s Board of Trustees from among nominations to be this year’s honoree.

Sabreena was introduced at the annual Mother’s Tea at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, at the Lecture Room at the Shrine. She was presented with a gift basket of pampering products in honor of her being named the Shrine’s Honored Mother of 2023.

Weaver, a Grafton resident, is an operating room nurse at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, as well as a birth mother and foster care adoptee mother to a combination of five children. She and Josie Johnson are responsible for bringing a Foster Closet to Grafton that assists with the needs of foster children, parents, and families not only in Grafton and Taylor County but across several counties.

Sabreena and her husband, Justin, are the parents of Kayleigh, Lylah, Carter, Eli, and Dayah. “We had two daughters, had an adopted child and wanted to adopt more,” notes Sabreena. She adds “We knew there are children out there in need of homes and we believed this was the route God was leading us.” All this happened at a time when the couple was considering adoption to expand their family and assist with children being in foster care and needing forever homes.

Around Christmas 2015, they started the adoption process and were contacted by a mother who had decided she needed to place her child up for adoption. This contact resulted in Eli becoming a member of the family through a private adoption. The Weaver’s also ended up adopting Carter and Dayah. Carter was 8-months old when he came to the family. Eli and Carter are three months apart in age. Justin’s brother, Matt, also lives with the family.

Sabreena says, “I’ve dreamed about being a mother to a large family my whole life.” Being named “Honored Mother of 2023” reminded Sabreena of one of her favorite quotes that she found when she and her husband started expanding their family through adoption. The quote is by Jody Landers and reads, "A child born to another woman calls me mom. The magnitude of that tragedy and the depth of that privilege are not lost on me."

“I am so blessed God has called me on this journey,” notes Sabreena. She says the honor has provided her an opportunity to also highlight her Faithful Fostering closet. “I hope this inspires more people to become foster parents and adopt,” stresses Sabreena.

Sabreena and Justin are both 2007 graduates of Grafton High School. Justin is employed by the state of West Virginia as a corrections officer at the Pruntytown Correctional Center (PCC).

The IMDS hopes to better formalize its nomination process for Honored Mother nominees, so more mothers can be nominated and their unique stories shared.

Anna Jarvis, founder of Mother’s Day, established the holiday to fulfill a wish that her mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis, had promoted throughout her lifetime. Mrs. Jarvis is listed as the “originator of Mother’s Day” and as “the first honored mother.” Mrs. Jarvis established Mother’s Work Clubs in the 1800s to educate West Virginia mothers on proper sanitation, food preparation and storage, etc. These efforts were in a time period when few homes had refrigerated storage.

She made these efforts because only four of her 12 children lived to adulthood. This was a time period when childhood diseases claimed the lives of many children. Mrs. Jarvis’ efforts are credited with reducing childhood mortality rates within West Virginia. Members of her Mothers’ Work Clubs also provided care for both Confederate and Union soldiers wounded during the Civil War years.

The Shrine Board looks for nominees for Honored Mother who exemplify similar stories of motherhood to those of Mrs. Jarvis throughout her lifetime of service to her family and her community. Our 2023 Honored Mother meets these criteria, says IMDS Board Chair Marvin Gelhausen.

At the Weaver home, Sabreena and her husband provide for the care of five children, (two birth children and three adopted children but all a part of one united family).

Sabreena works the midnight shift at Ruby, a shift many avoid because the work many times involves trauma care and emergency surgeries. Something Sabreena describes as “heart pounding” care.

Sabreena started as a surgical tech, passing instruments to the surgeon. She quickly realized she could go back for additional training and expand her career and become an operating room nurse. She has stepped up to the plate of doing her part to assist with the medical care of those in need and this is truly in line with the character shown by the first honored mother in 1908.

Sabreena was honored May 6 at the annual Mother’s Tea at the International Mother’s Day Shrine, located along Main Street in downtown Grafton. The IMDS collaborates with the Grafton/Taylor County Public Library which coordinates the annual 1 p.m. tea. Advance reservations were required and the 2023 tea was at full capacity.



The International Mother’s Day Shrine in Grafton, where Mother’s Day began, has named Sabreena Weaver as its “Honored Mother 2023.” Shown below standing are Justin and Sabreena Weaver. Seated on the loveseat from left to right are the Weaver family children: Kayleigh, Eli, Dayah, Carter, Lylah.

12/14/2022

International Mother’s Day Shrine
Holiday Open House is Sunday
by Nicki Skinner
MOUNTAIN STATESMAN EDITOR
GRAFTON, W.Va. (WV News) — The International Mother’s Day Shrine has been beautifully decorated for the holiday season and will be welcoming residents and guests to come and see the splendor with an open house event.
According to board member Larry Richman, the Shrine has been transformed into a picturesque display of Christmastime, featuring 12 different Christmas trees, all adding to the holiday atmosphere.
“The trees range in size from 7 1/2 to 12 feet in height, and they have been beautifully decorated by volunteers once again this year,” he noted.
And because the holidays are a time for family and friends to gather, the board thought it the perfect idea to host an event where community members could come together to mingle and enjoy an afternoon of music.
Join the International Mother’s Day Shrine Board as they open their doors to residents for a special holiday gathering on Sunday. During the open house, guests will be treated to sweet serenades as some favorite holiday songs are played from the historic building’s pipe organ.
“We do hope that you will join us for this exciting event,” Richman said. “Our volunteers and board members have put in hours of work decorating the Shrine, and it looks wonderful. Come see the trees, decorations, and be sure to stay for some beautiful music!”
The open house is set from 1-4 p.m. and is sure to be an event you don’t want to miss. So, grab your friends, family and those close to you and head downtown to take in even more sights and sounds of the holiday season!

12/08/2022

Christmas 2022 at the International Mother’s Day Shrine —Community Christmas caroling returned to the Shrine December 2 as the Grafton High School Entertainers, along with Duretha Mayle, choral leader, and Rick Kennedy, organist, lead the community in a number of Christmas carols following Light Up night in Grafton. Listen to this video featuring the singing of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

12/08/2022

Christmas at the International Mother's Day Shrine --Community Christmas caroling returned to the Shrine December 2, 2022, as the Grafton High School Entertainers, along with Duretha Mayle, choral leader, and Rick Kennedy, organist, lead the community in a number of Christmas carols following Light Up Night in Grafton. Listen to this video featuring the singing of "What Child is This."