Preface to Memories of Rahija
Sometime in 1987, sadly, I realized that my father, who would have been 102 had he lived, passed the milestone of his 100th birthday without note or commemoration. I vowed this would not happen with my mother, Rahija Saad Bassett.
In early May, 1991, I wrote to all of her children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces, cousins, and others, asking them to pause for a moment of reflection at the noon hour on her date of birth. And I also asked for a written remembrance: a story, an incident, an impression to be shared.
This book is a collection of those individual memories which have come together to form a vivid image of a loving, nurturing woman, who seldom complained of ill fortune, who loved God, and nature, and life, and her children, and all those about her. Her stories are a part of our family folklore and her history is a vital part of our heritage.
This collection gives us a unique way to remember her, and an opportunity to pass on to our children and their children and their children's children the heritage which helped to shape us and them. Thank you all for your memories, and I thank my sisters for their special help.
- Abe J. Bassett
This book may be read on line at Wright State's CORE Scholar, or it's 115 pages may be download. For either option, go to
