Helen Cary The gift that keeps on giving 5questions

Story and photos

by Hudson Shelton

Whenyou are invited to Helen Cary’s home, you are certain to not leave empty handed, or with an empty stomach, for that matter. Helen’s love language is, and always has been, gift giving. She also loves to receive them, but giving them is her forte. She says the gift of giving is what motivates her to wake up every morning and gives her the energy to get out and about around town. At 82 years old, it is impossible to quantify how many gifts she has given and exactly how many people have been on the receiving end. One thing is for sure, it is a lot. During my time at Helen’s house one afternoon, I was gifted a pen because, “you can never have too many,” and a flashlight for my car because, “what happens if the power goes out?” Both actually came in handy within the week. I was offered a piece of chocolate and asked what my favorite drink of choice was after politely declining a cup of tea. A minute later, a glass of ice cold, freshly poured Dr. Pepper was placed on the table in front of me.

Helen’s fondness for giving, and a well-timed epiphany from God while watching the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007, are precisely what led her to create Two Shoes Ministry in Cullman, a nonprofit that provides shoes for needy children and adults across Cullman County, northern Alabama, and even as far away as Kentucky. Along with the help of friends and volunteers in the Cullman area, Helen and Two Shoes Ministry have provided close to 10,000 pair of shoes since the ministry was first started in 2007.

Perhaps it was Helen’s humble beginnings that propelled her to live her life in this way. Born in 1941 in Selma, Alabama as the youngest of seven children, she was used to the hand-medown life that is familiar to any last child.

Although she had loving parents, Ruth and Paul Joseph Musante, she credits for instilling in her her work ethic and her appreciation for life, they seldom had enough money to divvy out presents to their seven children. She still remembers the first present she ever received, a ‘Me Doll’ that she got in 1944. It is still displayed on her wall to this day (more on that in a bit).

Shortly after her birth, Helen’s parents moved her with her siblings to Louisiana. She was enrolled in a Catholic school and slowly began to develop the Cajun twanged accent she says people have a hard time understanding in Alabama. In 1961, Helen’s mother, Ruth, was offered a job in the office of Judge K.J. Griffith in Cullman that was too good to pass up. Again, the family loaded up their car and were now off to make a new life in Cullman. Helen met a man and nearly decided to drop out of school to get married. That is, until her father offered her a ’62 Chevy to stay in school and ditch the guy. She chose the Chevrolet, and got a degree in business from Southeastern Louisiana University.

Helen ended up marrying a man from Decatur named Tommy Cary and had two children, Thomas Wayne, who lives in Alaska, and Paul Marshall, who lives in Huntsville and has two children of his own. After the marriage ended, Helen found herself moving around from state to state working different managerial roles for Walmart. After 17 years at Walmart and stints in several different states across the southeast, Helen was finally sent back to Cullman in 1994. She retired three months later and decided to buy a home to settle in after a lifetime of moving from place to place. Cullman got a good one.

On my way out the front door of Helen’s house, flashlight and pen in hand, she asked me to stop while she went to the freezer to grab something. With a sweet smile on her face, she handed over a popsicle and said, “This is my last one, don’t let it melt on your drive home!”

1. How did Two Shoes Ministry come about? Were you getting restless in your retirement?

“I would not say restless, but I was looking for something new to do. I have always tried to be active in the community, and one day I was watching The Oprah Winfrey Show and saw a woman giving away pajamas to people in need. I knew I wanted to do something like that. I prayed to the Lord that evening and He put the idea of shoes in my head. I went through twelve years of nothing but saddle oxfords while in Catholic school so when I got to college, I got a job to pay for new shoes. I talked to attorney Dan Willingham the next day to help me set up the ministry, and he is one of our board members. He advised me that the original name I had come up with for the ministry sounded like a junk yard, so I changed it to Two Shoes and it was started from there.”

2. Who were some other people who were instrumental in getting the ministry started?

“Everybody on the board has helped somewhere along the way and has had a hand in creating Two Shoes (Doug Doggett, Dr. Bruce Lee, Dan Willingham, Dr. Paula Robinson and Dr. Joshua Robinson sit on the board). I have gotten older and things really slowed down because of the pandemic, but there are still people who continue to ask me if I need any help or if they can run to the store to buy pairs of shoes for some children I may know who need a pair. The only time somebody has not been good was the man who built the roof on the new shoe shed. I had to have it completely redone.”

3. You are not just known for Two Shoes, are you? What’s with the Barbie Dolls?

“I got my first doll as a gift in 1944 and have taken care of her ever since.

How many ladies can say they still have their first doll? And that’s old! A friend of mine told me about the holiday collectors Barbies in 1988 and I have one from every year. I have the first black Barbie from 1990, a Ken doll, Jacqueline Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth, and the entire set from The Wizard of Oz collection. I will give them to my granddaughter when I die, but they will be in this house until then.”

4. What is something that people might not know about Helen Cary?

“When I was growing up in Louisiana, my family went to Mardi Gras every year. It was our favorite thing to do together and we would drive there with a car full and eat king cake and grab as many beads as we could. I am going to Mardi Gras in Covington, Louisiana this year because my nephew has a house there and we are going to celebrate with the family. I will sure miss New Orleans. I try to bring back a different masquerade mask every time I come home, and have almost filled up half my wall! I will be sure to have Mardi Gras beads for you the next time I see you.”

5. What is it about Cullman that made you decide to spread your roots here?

“Ever since I moved here for a time with my parents in the early 60’s, I have had a special place for Cullman in my heart. There is no trash, and it is the cleanest town I have ever lived in. The people are friendly, and I love my church community at Sacred Heart. I have made friends here that like to give me stuff just as much as I like to give them stuff. It’s just a wonderful community of hardworking people.”

Anyone interested in donating to Two Shoes Ministry can call Helen at (256)345-2968.

G ood Life Magazine

Good Reads

Never by Ken Follett

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline

Ken Follett’s first best-seller was Eye of the Needle (yes, you should read it) published in 1976. In 1989 he published Pillars of the Earth (this remains on my top 10 book list – you haven’t read it yet?). Now he’s back with another thriller (a doozy!) with his publication of Never (2021). If I’ve heard friends, neighbors and pundits say it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times (as have you): “It could never happen here.” Spoiler alert: Yes, it can. “Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn’t get fixed.” This happens in our personal lives as well as with world events. This book has everything: good guys, really, really bad guys, false prophets and true warriors. Told in a dramatic, chronological narrative, it involves a stolen drone, an uninhabited Japanese island and a stash of deadly chemical weapons. It is the story of “fixing” a problem that may or may never be fixed. Sacrifices are made, lives are lost, lifelong friendships destroyed and other formerly unknown alliances firmly entrenched. It is frighteningly real. It is an addictive read, and “it could never happen here.” A must-read.

Communism is a sacred mission. It comes above everything else, including our family ties and our own personal safety.” Jianjun had been raised to see the capitalistimperialists as lifelong enemies. China had changed, the world had changed, but the old men were stuck in the past.

Deb Laslie

–

Lisa Scottoline, best-selling and Edgar Award-winning author of over 33 novels has penned her first true historical in Eternal. 1937. Rome, Italy. Eternal is the story of three teenagers and their families: Allesandro, the handsome Jewish mathematician in love with Elizabetta, a budding novelist who is Catholic, and Marco, (also in love with Elizabetta) a cycling prodigy and proud fascist whose family are staunch supporters of Mussolini. Though their backgrounds are different, the three form unbreakable bonds as they grow up together in nearby neighborhoods. Their families are close; religious and political differences are inconsequential to their strong friendships. Then war comes to Europe, “and turned Italy topsyturvy,” Good became bad and bad became powerful. An unspeakable historical event shapes the outcome of their friendships, forcing horrific choices upon them. As one Italian matron notes, “War welcomed and concealed the most heinous of crimes.” Powerful writing about a time of emotion and passion in a city as old as time. If you love sweeping historical sagas, this is another “must read” to add to your nightstand collection. I loved every word.

Marco prayed this was the last war, but he knew it wouldn’t be. Men were fallible, and they would always believe in the wrong things. He sensed that he had just learned something that his father had already known, but neither of them spoke.

– Deb Laslie