Mother Of 18 Says Faith Was Key

By LIZ BLEAU The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 10, 2008

RIVERVIEW - Each Mother's Day, Nettie Smith is showered with cards and letters.

With 15 grown children, her house is filled with greeting cards, flowers and family on any given holiday, but Mother's Day brings an avalanche of affection.

Smith, 79, and her late husband, Stanley, raised their brood in a small four-bedroom, one-bath home the couple built in Fairfax, Va.

"Stanley was the carpenter, and I was the laborer," she said. "Our house didn't have central heating until many years later, and we got by with a wood stove. I chopped wood, even when I was pregnant, and did whatever it took to keep my children warm."

"When I look back, I don't know how we did it," she said. "We all worked hard and shared the responsibility."

Meals were major events.

"We had a table in the kitchen with room for everyone, and we would all sit and eat together," Smith said. "As you can imagine, I only know how to cook in large amounts."

And theirs was the house where neighborhood children often gathered.

"I was the neighborhood mom - free hairdresser, homemaker for the homeless, cook and housekeeper," she said. "We didn't have much, but what we had was clean, and I taught my children to be clean and responsible."

Stanley Smith died in 2003 after a heart attack. Smith moved to Riverview several years ago to be close to several children. Since her arrival, several other children have followed.

At a recent family gathering at Smith's home, Linda Smith, 59, of Brandon, said she and her sister, Carolyn Smith, the two oldest children, were the first to leave home and marry. It took them a long time to learn to cook smaller meals for themselves and a spouse.

Sadly, the Smiths lost three of their children to illness. But they relished and heaped affection on the rest.

Patrice Thompson, 39, of Riverview, said even among so many siblings she was spoiled.

"I was my daddy's little girl," she said. "And all the older kids would look out for me. I was able to depend on them for anything, and still can," she said.

The daughters reminisced about recycling clothing.

"We laugh when we look at some of the old photos," Linda Smith said, "because in one photo I had a dress on and in another photo, another of my sisters was wearing the dress, and on down the line."

"We still recycle clothes," she said. "We never throw anything out. There's always somebody in the family who can use it."

Patrice's husband, Raymond Thompson, said becoming part of such as large family took some getting used to, especially for an only child.

"It's amazing to me how everyone sticks together," he said.

Another of Smith's daughters, Freda Scott, 43, of Tampa, said her mom was active in the community while rearing her kids.

Nettie Smith concurred, recalling being active in the civil rights movement.

"When our children were old enough, they walked the picket lines with us," she said, adding her husband attended the March on Washington in 1963. Church was also important to the Smith family, she said.

Amber Smith, 36, said the family sat close to the front.

"Even now, I never like to be more than three or four rows back," she said.

Nettie Smith said she needed faith, raising such a large family without much money.

"I learned to trust in Jesus and depend upon his word. We brought our children up in the church and taught them Christian values. I taught my children to do things for other people because it was right, and not to expect to be paid for everything they did."

Reporter Liz Bleau can be reached at (813) 865-1557 or lbleau@tampatrib.com.