January 19, 1895 – July 12, 1990

by Ann Birmingham Head, Columbiana, Alabama, 2015

Known lovingly as “Mimp” to family and friends, Mildred Birmingham was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, to Claude Gilbert and Marjorie Anne England Milham. The poor health of a daughter led Claude to leave his dental practice in 1910 and move the family south to the growing town of Hamlet, North Carolina, where the family managed the Central Hotel.

Love blossomed between Mimp and John Birmingham after this young pharmacist arrived in Hamlet. Because she had commitments to keep – driving her horse and buggy daily to teach at the mill school in Rockingham – Mimp promised to marry John after she turned twenty-one, and she did. John opened the popular Birmingham Drug Store, which remains open today. Their household grew with two daughters, Marjorie and Ann, then Mimp’s mother lived with them after Claude’s death.

Mimp’s life in Hamlet centered around family, church, and community. While respecting the religious beliefs of all, Mimp expected her family to be seated at All Saints Episcopal Church each Sunday. Her mother had helped establish the church, and she intended to see it keep going forward. One nephew recalls hearing Aunt Mimp’s car horn at the top of the hill rounding up all the kids for Sunday School. She helped teach the teenagers in the Young People’s Service League. A series of clergy families became beneficiaries of the Birminghams’ hospitality.

As the Woman’s Auxiliary became a prime focus for Mimp’s energy and activity, her home also served as headquarters for various projects. Sales of goods, such as an excellent brass polish, became personal goals. During September, members of the Woman’s Auxiliary brought pansy plants to the back yard, planted them, then waited for Mimp’s prodding to sell, sell sell – a major annual project! Mimp’s older daughter, Marjorie, involved her in many activities which also benefitted women and children of other denominations: dancing, stage plays, ceramics, a prayer group, and music.

Perhaps Mimp’s greatest service involved the music of the church. She played the organ at All Saints for more than fifty years, beginning with a pump organ. Her small hands could move with speed and dexterity. As a young lady she played background music for silent movies. Throughout her life music filled her house, her voice and her soul, enriching the lives of many.

Mimp was short, but stood tall to advocate for the poor, the mistreated, the prisoner, and those in need. Once she protested to city officials about placing youth “run-aways” on chain gangs. During World War II the Birmingham house offered a haven for military families. Over the years, Mimp’s cakes, marmalades and casseroles for the sick and shut-ins became famous.

Mimp remained in her home for many years after John’s and their daughter Marjorie’s deaths. In declining health in her late eighties, she joined her daughter’s family – Ann and Oliver Head and five children – in Alabama. Old age did not diminish her concern for others. Upon her death at age 95 she returned to the family burial place in Hamlet.