Wednesday, November 7, 2018

At 93, Georgia Inman exemplifies 'can-do' living

Georgia Inman grew up believing there’s no such word as “can’t.”

At 93, she still believes it.

Anything that has ever come her way, she’s tackled it.

Growing up, I went to nine schools in nine years,” she said. “I had a scholarship to an art school in Chicago, but I got married at 16 instead.”

The couple took an 8,000-mile motorcycle trip for their honeymoon, with Georgia riding on the back of their Harley.

The country was at war, and they had to save up their gas-ration tickets for the trip. So, even though they got married in October, they didn’t leave for their trip until spring.

When Georgia’s husband, Lloyd Inman, was drafted into the Army, she went to work as a welder for Howard Aircraft.

“We made training planes for the Army,” she said.

This was in the days of “Rosie the Riveter,” when women worked in factories and assembly lines, doing jobs traditionally held by men.

“Before that, my first job was at Woolworth’s in Chicago — assistant manager at 15,” she said.

Other jobs throughout her life included working on an assembly line, bookkeeper at a bank, carhop at an ice cream shop, a seamstress and interior decorator for 26 years for a mobile home factory, a camp cook and a designer and seamstress making custom clothes for Barbie doll collectors.

Georgia and Lloyd had moved to Citrus County in 1980 and Georgia had some of her crafts at a store in Crystal River.

“One day, two men came into the store and wanted somebody to make gloves for Barbie dolls, and I said I could do that, and that’s how I got started,” she said.

If you’ve ever seen how small a Barbie doll’s hands are, you might say gloves would be impossible to make.

But Georgia Inman doesn’t say “can’t,” and she figured out a way to make tiny white gloves.

“That’s how I got started, and I worked for them for more than 10 years as their designer — and I had my name in Barbie Magazine,” she said.

Most of her designs were 1950s-1960s style, including an “I Dream of Jeannie” outfit.

“I made over 200 of those,” she said.

“They’d say: Can you do a 'Sound of Music' outfit?’ and I’d sketch it out and make it,” she said.

She and her husband traveled a lot, fished a lot. As an archer, she has won numerous archery trophies.

She is an artist, a painter and a former pine-needle basket maker and instructor.

She plays the organ — and makes, shows and sells quilts as a member of the Citrus Friendship Quilters Guild.

“Georgia is very special to us,” said fellow guild member Mary Ford. “She has personally made and donated 50 quilts to VA nursing homes, 5th District Guardian Ad Litem and hospice.”

“There’s no such word as ‘can’t’ — my mother told me that, and that’s how I lived my life,” Georgia said. “I never worried about jobs, what I was going to get paid or anything like that. They (jobs) just fell into my lap, and I did them."

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At 93, Georgia Inman exemplifies 'can-do' living

1 comment:

Nancy Bulette said...

She is a wonder!