In the End, Only Kindness Matters
By David Wright
Town Historian
Singer/songwriter Jewel released her moving, and perhaps best-known song, Hands, in October 1998. Part of the chorus of the song states, “In the end only kindness matters.” If you’ve never heard Jewel’s Hands, it’s definitely worth a listen at https://youtu.be/WGiVVC8hF80?si=blPoO4Y5SJU4eZWy.
We can’t help but wonder if Jewel didn’t extract a page from Billie Howell’s life, our most remarkable Suffragette. We’ve written many times about Billie. It just seems, however, that there’s still more to be discovered about her, even though she’s been gone nearly 100 years.
We recently came across the earliest photo we’ve seen to-date of Billie, with her prize cow in South Carolina. Billie rose rapidly in the Vaudeville world of the early 1900s, motivated by a desire to improve her home town of Mappus, South Carolina, by making it the dairy cattle capital of America. Billie had been offered $50,000 (about $1.5 million in today’s currency) to assist her cattle producing endeavors if she’d make a name for herself on Vaudeville within twelve months of the offer.
Billie took dance and singing lessons, and before the year was out, had made quite a name for herself on the New York Vaudeville circuit. Billie’s Vaudeville performances brought her to Bridgeport in 1914, where she performed at the Plaza Theater.
While in Bridgeport, Billie was interviewed by the owner and editor of the Bridgeport Herald, Richard Howell. Billie was 23 years old. Billie Howell’s stage name was Billie Cree. “… Billy Cree is a philosopher, and here is a simple philosophy. There’s just one little word in her code of life – ‘KINDNESS.’“
“Be kind; that is all that’s necessary,” says Billy Cree, “for kindness includes all the other virtues.”
Billie lived her code of life day-in and day-out in Stratford. She moved with her new husband, Richard Howell, to the southwest corner of South Avenue and Elm Street. Her home is no longer standing. She immediately went to work to improve the lives of the poor children in town. Billie taught the children how to garden to help provide food for their impoverished families. Billie became President of the Sedgewick School PTA, although she had no children of her own.
Billy took Stratford children to the beach at her own expense to provide them with some recreational opportunities they could not otherwise afford. She founded the Stratford Girl Scouts and created the first Girl Scout Camp in America. Billie funded the first town-wide Christmas party, and regularly held parties at her home for the children of town.
Billie made such an impression on the Italian immigrants in the Avon Park district that she and her girl scouts were invited to the annual Italian Feast of Mt. Carmel. No non-Italian had ever been invited to the Feast, so loved was Billie by the residents of Avon Park.
Billie’s life came to a tragic end in 1928 when she was stricken by pneumonia. She was only 35 years old.
Billie’s code of life, KINDNESS, stands today as a testament to her contributions to our town. Likely no one did more to assist the impoverished children in town than did Billie. Because, in the end, only kindness matters.
