Gwen's Story

From the Pilot News  Online edition Saturday, July 15, 2006

Original Link: http://www.thepilotnews.com/articles/2006/05/19/news/news01.txt

Argos man aids in the search for a mother

By Lindahl Wiegand
Staff Writer

Editor's Note: The last name of the daughter in this story is being held for privacy.

ARGOS - It's been 15 months since Emmett Glover of Argos has seen his fianceé. He was with Mary Beatrice Razo-Smith for six years before she ran off on the day they were supposed to be married at the Marshall County Courthouse.

For Smith's daughter, 26-year old Gwendellin B., Glover is a link, a piece of the puzzle she has been trying to put together for more than two years. On Thursday, Gwen, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, came to Argos with a documentary film crew in a quest to be reunited with her mother.

Gwen has never known her mother, a woman who threw her into a campfire in Alaska in 1980, when she was just 10 months old. The tragedy resulted in second and third degree burns over 80 percent of her body and the loss of several fingers, her ear and half of her scalp.

The trauma from the fire has scarred Gwen physically and emotionally. “I can't even go to the post office or grocery store without someone staring at me, their eyes darting from my scars to my eyes as if they can't control it,” she states on the film's Web site. Recently, Gwen's depression led her to the Alaska Psychiatric Institute, where she was diagnosed as bi-polar and schizophrenic.

Gwen doesn't know much about her mother, except that she is in her mid-fifties and was put into in a mental hospital after the terrible fire incident. Before Smith came to Argos, Glover e-mailed her a photograph - the first picture of her mother that Gwen had ever seen.

In his apartment, surrounded by old photo albums and some of her mother's possessions, the tall brunette, dressed in a red skirt and shirt, black knee socks and wearing glasses, asked Glover question after question. She learned that her mother loves crafts, shopping for antiques, Chinese food and the color red. Her mother also suffers from asthma, just like Gwen, and battled cancer while she was with Glover.

The pair ignored the cameras, sound equipment and lights of the film crew as Glover reminsced about Smith. He helped Gwen try on a brown, leather strap watch that belonged to her mother, and even dug out perfumes that she used to wear. “She likes fresh smells,” smiled Gwen, after twisting the cap back on a bottle.

Glover described Smith as a “kind-hearted,” person who would “help a stranger on the street” and “give you her last dime.” Even though Smith had several children, she only talked about Gwen, said Glover.

The night before Smith disappeared, she confessed to Glover that she had set one of her children on fire. “She is really sorry. She was crying,” said Glover.

Through previous research, Gwen learned that her mother had been into drugs, but Glover said that was not the case while he lived with her. He still doesn't know why she left that day, and hasn't heard from her since. “Maybe she got cold feet,” he said.

It would be healing for Smith to have the opportunity to apologize to Gwen, he said. His instinct tells him that Smith is in California or Seattle now, he said.

Pastor Justin Chambers of the New Song Community Church in Plymouth was responsible for connecting Glover and Gwen. He is good friends with one of Gwen's distant relative, and heard that she was searching for her mother. He asked if anyone knew of a Mary living around here, and someone did, said Katzke. “It's just such a coincidence that this pastor lived in this town,” she said.

“He came over, knocked on the door and explained why he was here,” said Glover. “He asked if Mary lived here and told me her daughter wanted to meet me for a documentary.”

While in Argos, Gwen made phone calls to her mother's former doctor and psychiatrist, to try to find out when she last received treatment. The group also met with a private investigator from Indianapolis who specializes in finding family members. After leaving Argos, Gwen planned to head to South Bend to investigate another lead.

Mary Katzke, producer and director of the film, “Gwen's Story: Crazy like Me”, lived next door when Gwen was a little girl in Alaska, she said. Gwen invited Katzke and her non-profit media company, Affinityfilms, Inc. to accompany her on a journey to find her mother, and find out what happened to her that day - and why. They have been following Gwen for more than two years, and Glover is the closest lead yet, said Katzke.

“Gwen's Story” takes a hard look at several issues: “The meaning of physical beauty in a media culture obsessed with ‘thin' and ‘young' and ‘gorgeous'; what it means to be an outsider in terms of social norms; what options are available to someone with disabilities here in our community; and the power of taking control of one's life and connecting with other survivors,” states the Web site. The film is being sponsored by the Arts & Entertainment Network.

The film has received a $2,500 development grant from the New York Mercantile Exchange Charitable Foundation and a trailer for the video is being produced. Affinityfilms is also the beneficiary of an equipment grant from the Rasmuson Foundation and the Alaska State Arts Council has donated $1,000 toward travel and public relations materials costs.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.affinityfilms.org. Anyone with information on Mary Razo-Smith should contact Katzke through the Web site or call the private investigator at 1-800-889-FIND.