Who is Rosie Martin, one might ask?
Rosie Martin is a native Kentuckian, born and raised in Todd County. She lived most of her life in Logan County where she worked at Emerson Electric for many years. That is also where she met her husband, the late Bethel Martin. Together they had two daughters, Regina (Frannie) Blann and Kim Spaulding. She is also a grandmother to four grandchildren (Isaiah, Dontavius, Bryen and Nicholas). Currently she resides in Bowling Green and is very active in the community.
She has held positions in the local NAACP, Union District Association Circle Five Missionary, and Townsend Grove Baptist Church, where she is a member and a Mother..
The memorabilia you can currently see in an exhibit at Logan County Public Library of the Barack and Michelle Obama Era is the legacy she wants to leave to her grandchildren. During the eight years of the Obama Era, Rosie collected every news article, book, doll, coin and just about anything else she could find related to the Obama family and presidency.
This was an era she thought she would never see in her lifetime. To a woman who recalled being denied so many freedoms as a little girl because of her ethnicity, seeing an African American male running the country made her exceedingly proud.
During her childhood, Rosie was unable to purchase books to learn about her heritage. While attending school, the black students were always a year behind the white students because they had to wait for the textbooks to be handed down. Sadly, Rosie found nothing about her heritage in those textbooks.
Over the years, as times began to change, she was eventually able to find and read about people that looked like her who made impacts on African American life today. Learning the richness of her heritage encouraged Rosie to strive for greatness in her life and encourage her children and grandchildren to do the same.
Rosie Martin will leave behind to her grandchildren her passion for hard work, love, and honor. Her value of these traits is why she admires the Obama family and their accomplishments.
The exhibit will be on display at Logan County Public Library throughout the Black History Month of February.