What’s in a name? Meet Barbara

By Karen Soderholm
Sun contributor

A group of women in the Glen Arbor area have found a common bond, and it’s all in a name. More than 45 Barbaras have joined together to celebrate the simple fact that they share the same first name, and they are finding that they have many other similarities, too.

“Barbara was a very popular name in the 1930s and ’40s,” says area Barbara Club organizer Barb Alldredge. In fact, the Social Security Administration lists Barbara as the third most popular name for those decades, usurped only by Mary and Betty. What lead to its mid-century popularity isn’t really clear, but there is a history behind the name.

Saint Barbara was, until recently, recognized as the Catholic patron saint of thunder and lightning; she was a virgin martyr and is also considered the saint of firefighters, soldiers, prisoners, stonemasons and those who have dangerous professions.

Saint Barbara’s story is a harrowing one involving a controlling father, a secret faith conversion, and a violent death. According to legend, Father locked Barbara in a tower to preserve her virginity. Someone smuggled her a book about Christianity and she subsequently was visited by a priest disguised as a physician. He answered her questions and baptized her.

When her conversion was discovered, Father demanded she renounce her faith or face torture and death. She refused and Father ordered her to be paraded naked though the town. The legend holds that a fog appeared to hide her from onlookers. Then Father ordered her to be tortured with fire, but the flames reportedly did not burn her. On Dec. 4, Father had Barbara beheaded, but shortly thereafter, he was struck by lightning and killed in what appeared to be an act of divine retribution.

Doubts about the historical accuracy of this story account for Saint Barbara being removed from the Catholic liturgical calendar in 1969. However, her popularity continues, and The Feast of Saint Barbara is held on Dec. 4.

The local Barbara Club celebrates on the half-year, June 4, when more members are in town. This year 18 Barbaras attended a luncheon to honor their given names. “It’s purely a social club,” said Barb Siepker, “We eat and talk, share Barbara facts and stories, and lament that there aren’t any little girls named Barbara anymore.”

The marked decrease in popularity of the name naturally coincided with Mattel, Inc.’s introduction of the Barbie™ doll in 1959. “It was the end of the Barbara,” said Barb Vandenberg. “Parents didn’t want the name of their daughters to be linked to the popular doll. It may also have had to do with the emerging women’s liberation movement.”

But this group of women grew up with Barbaras everywhere! “We all have had times of identity issues,” said Alldrege.

When a young Barb Marsh arrived at Camp Interlochen in 1951 and ’52, she was one of four Barbaras in a cabin of 12 girls. “We had to immediately assign nicknames to keep us all separate, so I was ‘B’,” she said. “Even now when I get a phone call and someone asks for ‘B’, I know it’s an old camp buddy.” Marsh has had other identity mix-ups, too, as another Barbara Marsh lives nearby. “I’ve gotten calls and mail for her,” she said, “but I called her and we laughed about sharing the name.”

With so many Barbaras, sometimes nicknames happened. In college, Barb Abbott found herself differentiated from other Barbaras when a date mumbled her name and others picked up on it; “Brer Rabbit” stuck.

“My husband and my dad called me Barbie,” said Barb Von Voigtlander. “But when I was introduced as ‘Barbie’, I told people that these two men where the only ones who could call me that.”

Even now, these women run into those with the same first name often. Alldredge was part of a 65-member Barbara Club in Rockford, Ill. When she began spending more time in Leelanau County, she found a Barbara surplus here, too. “Four out of eight women in my Pilates class shared the name,” she said. “In our golf league at The Dunes Golf Club, the joke when we were recruiting new players was ‘anyone but a Barbara,’ as a full 17 percent of the league held that name!”

The Barbara Club doesn’t have an official tie with the Glen Arbor Fire Department, but because of the Saint Barbara connection with firefighters, the crew has benefitted on occasion. “I’ve taken leftover cookies to them after a couple of gatherings,” said Alldredge. “We hope to have a group outing there and tour the department sometime soon.”

At a special meeting of the Barbara Club in July, Barb Munson entertained the group by recounting a funny conversation with her daughter: “I was describing the group and relating the St. Barbara/firefighter connection, and she wanted to know if there would be a firefighter at the meeting … and what he’d be wearing!”

Barb Reinert said, “I was once told that there was a study that linked peoples’ happiness with their names. Barbaras were the happiest and Margarets were the least happy.”

Makes sense: This is a happy group of women.

Calling all Barbaras: Do you share the name? All Barbaras are welcome to join the group by emailing Alldredge at glenarborbarb(AT)aol.com.