The Avon Lady
By Jo Ann
@akalinus (44366)
United States
September 8, 2018 12:03pm CST
She may have been abandoned by her husband but was determined to make a success of her life, she became the Avon Lady.
Every day, she put her two toddlers into a wagon and piled Avon products and catalogs around them. She trudged a different neighborhood every day only stopping to care for the kids and to sell and deliver products.
The most noticeable feature about her was the huge circle of bright red rouge on each cheek. She did not know how to use the products she sold correctly.
By now, her kids are grown and on their own. I wonder if they got inspiration from their mother's determination. I wonder what became of her. I will never forget her.
Did you ever get inspiration from someone in your neighborhood who tried harder than anyone else?
17 people like this
17 responses
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
8 Sep 18
I think Avon and Mary Kay Products might have been easier to sell "back then".
Of course, I am not so sure of that either.
I'm glad she was determined to make her life, and the lives of her children, better.
Ah, and, as for your question? Nah, I can't really think of anyone.
3 people like this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
8 Sep 18
@akalinus Even Avon and Mary Kay do things online now, which hurts a lot of the ones trying to sell.
People don't appreciate door to door salesman, not that they ever really did either.
You have no idea what happened to her or her children? Perhaps she moved to a different community or got a better job.
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
8 Sep 18
@ScribbledAdNauseum We moved all the time when I was a kid. I saw people and never knew what happened to them.
@Courtlynn (67089)
• United States
8 Sep 18
Avon is very popular around here, still.
I love their waterproof eyeliner.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
8 Sep 18
@Courtlynn I think I got some eye cream and lip gloss from our park lady. She has gone back to another state.
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (67089)
• United States
8 Sep 18
My grandmother sold Avon for about 20 years, but never went house to house to sell. Everyone came to her, knowing that she sold it.
I hope you can find out what happened to her, and her kids.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
8 Sep 18
@Courtlynn Wow, she should have given classes on how to sell stuff.
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (67089)
• United States
8 Sep 18
@akalinus she was / is very liked, and people just loved avon that much that she didn't have to go to them.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
9 Sep 18
She definitely had determination. People will do what they feel they need to do, and she provided a good example for her kids.
@RebeccasFarm (91299)
• United States
20 Apr 22
That was me when my son was a toddler..took him on the back of my bicycle selling Avon door to door.
I did now how to use the products though
I am staring it up again maybe the Avon.
I am staring it up again maybe the Avon.
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
8 Sep 18
That is interesting. I remember a Fuller Brush man coming around. I sold Watkins products. I went to the old age homes and talked to people. One remembered the Watkins guy coming in a horse and wagon. Others remembered a truck. I listened to their stories. The best sellers were something to rub on for arthritis and some stuff you could drip on a pillowcase or tissue to help you breathe easier.
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Sep 18
Well, I get inspiration from those who are good at what they do. Jean Pieget. Erik Erikson. B.F. Skinner. Albert Bandura. Willie Mays. Alex DeGrassi. Pat Metheny. Jim Hall. But I'm not sure I'd get inspiration from someone who didn't know how to use the very products she was selling.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (44366)
• United States
8 Sep 18
She was inspiring because she dragged those tots around all day and earned money to keep them all together. If there was welfare back then, I did not know about it. I had to get a job to pay for my brother's dental treatment. I was older then.
1 person likes this
@anamika161088 (11866)
• India
8 Sep 18
Yeah.. I know similar type of struggling person who is associated with Amway now and Living a happy life
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
9 Sep 18
Back in the day Avon ladies had a lot more respect, and if you were doing Good with it you deserved it. I am sure there are many out there who have learned a lot from the old ways of doing it, and hopefully her kids have some good work ethics instilled in them because of this.
@noni1959 (13009)
• United States
9 Sep 18
AVON was easier to sell back in the day and more personable. I had a lady I bought from and she didn't use the products - just needed money. She was very honest and gave other's opinions how they felt about certain items. I liked her being real. I buy now from a website that just isn't the same.
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Sep 18
Good for her. I do hope she did well from her efforts.
