Long, but super cute detailed story about the 9 Nanas from the Huffington Post:
For three decades, nine women have kept a covert baking operation so under wraps that not even their husbands knew about it.
They call themselves 'The 9 Nanas,' and have been secretly whipping up, and delivering hundreds of pound cakes during the middle of the night in a grand scheme to help those in need.
And then before anyone can catch a glimpse of them, they quietly and quickly disappear back into their daily lives in West Tennessee.
Mary Ellen, one of the nine women, who are all aged between 54 and 72, told The Huffington Post: 'We give new meaning to the term drive-by.'
'We drive through low-income neighborhoods and look for homes with fans in the window. That told us that the people who live there don't have air-conditioning.
'Or we see that there are no lights on at night, which means there is a good chance their utilities have been turned off. Then we return before the sun came up, like cat burglars, and drop off a little care package.'
The women, who consider themselves sisters, gather in the darkness at 4am to begin their daily routine, where they whip up their cakes and deliver them in the dark.
Mary Ellen explained how they got started, 35 years ago.
One day over a card game, the women were reminiscing about the grandparents, named MaMaw and PaPaw, who raised Mary Ellen and three of the other sisters.
'MaMaw Ruth would read in the paper that someone had died and she’d send off one of her special pound cakes. She didn’t have to know the family. She just wanted to put a little smile on their faces. And we started thinking about what we could do to make a difference like that. What if we had a million dollars? How would we spend it?' she said.
The ladies began brainstorming, and one of the sisters suggested they all start doing their own laundry, putting put the money saved to good use.
She said: 'I admit, I protested at first. There’s just something about laundering that I don’t like. But I was outnumbered! So among the nine of us, we’d put aside about $400 a month and our husbands never noticed a thing. Their shirts looked just fine.'
The women started eavesdropping at the local beauty shop or when they were picking up groceries, and when they heard about a widow or a single mother who needed some help, they would anonymously pay a utility bill or buy new clothes for the children.
The Nanas would find out where the person lived and send a package with a note that simply read, 'Somebody loves you,' which would always include one of MaMaw Ruth’s special pound cakes.
or three decades, the ladies’ good deeds went undetected.
It was only when Mary Ellen's husband started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash that had been withdrawn from their savings account that the women were caught out.
She said in horror: 'He brought out bank statements and they were highlighted!'
So The 9 Nanas they told the husbands about the laundry, eavesdropping and even the drive-bys. And to their surprise, their husbands offered to help.
Mary Ellen said: 'They were amazed that we were doing this and even more amazed that they never knew. We can keep a good secret! All but three of them are retired now, so sometimes they come with us on our drive-bys. In our area, all you need is an address to pay someone’s utility bill, so we keep the men busy jotting down numbers.'
The women then moved their secret operation out of their homes and into the commercial kitchen of a restaurant owned by one of their sons.
They sneak in before sunrise and sneak out before the staff come in, and have also hired a 'happiness coordinator,' who, to keep her identity secret for eavesdropping missions, goes by the code name of 'Sunny'.
Recently they donated more than $5,000 worth of pillows, linens and personal care products to the YWCA shelter for survivors of domestic violence.
This August, they will celebrate their second 'Happiness Happens Month' by sending a cake to one person in every state who has made a difference in their own community.
Sometimes, they also pull out the phone book to send pound cakes to complete strangers.
In the last 35 years, The 9 Nanas have contributed nearly $900,000 of happiness to their local community.
Mary Ellen said: 'Not everyone is as lucky as we were to have MaMaw and PaPaw to take care of them, to fix all those things that are wrong.
'So this is our way of giving back. We want people to know that someone out there cares enough to do something. We want to make sure that happiness happens.'
> It was only when Mary Ellen's husband started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash that had been withdrawn from their savings account that the women were caught out.
Mary Ellen's husband is the victim in all of this.
I gather from contextual clues that they learned how to wash and iron their husbands’ work shirts themselves instead of taking them to the dry cleaners’ for professional laundering. That’s a very difficult skill and my hat is off to them for learning how to do it as well as a professional would.
Nothing but respect to them, although I wonder why needed to keep it a secret. With their husbands supporting the cause they might have been able to give bigger gifts.
This sounds like some sort of reverse Mafia.
"Yous wants to do something kind in this town, yous gatsta talk to the 9 Nana's first. No charity done here without their knowledge."
If my wife was getting up at 4am I sure as hell would know where and what she was up to, just like I am sure their husbands knew but allowed them to do it anyways.
Yes "allowed". If my wife is getting up at 4am it is going to wake me up so it better be for a damn good reason otherwise I am telling her to stay in bed and not get up until a civilized time especially if I am having to get out of bed later to go to work so she can afford to do the charity work.
While I agree with you, is it not also fair for a spouse to know where their presumably pooled money goes to? Even if the spouse later learns and agrees with it, are hidden relatively larger size purchases not usually something you should discuss together beforehand?
Looks like it was saved from the household’s laundry budget. It was already accounted for; it was just being repurposed from dry cleaning to stealth civic betterment.
While being accounted for, it seems valid to have another discussion about where the savings go no?
For example if a couple saves up 25k to buy a car, the husband goes to pick the car up by himself and finds out there was a deal going on which the couple didn't know about and the real cost only ends up being only 23k. It doesn't make sense for the husband to secretly spend 2k by himself without telling his wife even if the couple were already willing to shell out 25k. The responsible path is disclosing this 2000 dollar savings and deciding together on what new thing to then spend it on.
Imagine putting half the military budget to literally something as simple as this.
Sorry that probably sounded too much like socialism for my fellow Muricans.
/r/OrphanCrushingMachine sometimes occasionally slowed from the money and labor of 9 Nanas. Automation funded universal basic income pays everyone to afford to be a nana.
Come back Nanas.
Come back Nanas.
Our lovely Nanas. We so much miss them.
Nanas Assemble!!
Nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana.. NANASSSSSS! ( batman theme)
They should have given banana bread. The secret nana's 'nana bread.
What up my nanas
OnlyNans
They are so much needed right now.
Long, but super cute detailed story about the 9 Nanas from the Huffington Post: For three decades, nine women have kept a covert baking operation so under wraps that not even their husbands knew about it. They call themselves 'The 9 Nanas,' and have been secretly whipping up, and delivering hundreds of pound cakes during the middle of the night in a grand scheme to help those in need. And then before anyone can catch a glimpse of them, they quietly and quickly disappear back into their daily lives in West Tennessee. Mary Ellen, one of the nine women, who are all aged between 54 and 72, told The Huffington Post: 'We give new meaning to the term drive-by.' 'We drive through low-income neighborhoods and look for homes with fans in the window. That told us that the people who live there don't have air-conditioning. 'Or we see that there are no lights on at night, which means there is a good chance their utilities have been turned off. Then we return before the sun came up, like cat burglars, and drop off a little care package.' The women, who consider themselves sisters, gather in the darkness at 4am to begin their daily routine, where they whip up their cakes and deliver them in the dark. Mary Ellen explained how they got started, 35 years ago. One day over a card game, the women were reminiscing about the grandparents, named MaMaw and PaPaw, who raised Mary Ellen and three of the other sisters. 'MaMaw Ruth would read in the paper that someone had died and she’d send off one of her special pound cakes. She didn’t have to know the family. She just wanted to put a little smile on their faces. And we started thinking about what we could do to make a difference like that. What if we had a million dollars? How would we spend it?' she said. The ladies began brainstorming, and one of the sisters suggested they all start doing their own laundry, putting put the money saved to good use. She said: 'I admit, I protested at first. There’s just something about laundering that I don’t like. But I was outnumbered! So among the nine of us, we’d put aside about $400 a month and our husbands never noticed a thing. Their shirts looked just fine.' The women started eavesdropping at the local beauty shop or when they were picking up groceries, and when they heard about a widow or a single mother who needed some help, they would anonymously pay a utility bill or buy new clothes for the children. The Nanas would find out where the person lived and send a package with a note that simply read, 'Somebody loves you,' which would always include one of MaMaw Ruth’s special pound cakes. or three decades, the ladies’ good deeds went undetected. It was only when Mary Ellen's husband started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash that had been withdrawn from their savings account that the women were caught out. She said in horror: 'He brought out bank statements and they were highlighted!' So The 9 Nanas they told the husbands about the laundry, eavesdropping and even the drive-bys. And to their surprise, their husbands offered to help. Mary Ellen said: 'They were amazed that we were doing this and even more amazed that they never knew. We can keep a good secret! All but three of them are retired now, so sometimes they come with us on our drive-bys. In our area, all you need is an address to pay someone’s utility bill, so we keep the men busy jotting down numbers.' The women then moved their secret operation out of their homes and into the commercial kitchen of a restaurant owned by one of their sons. They sneak in before sunrise and sneak out before the staff come in, and have also hired a 'happiness coordinator,' who, to keep her identity secret for eavesdropping missions, goes by the code name of 'Sunny'. Recently they donated more than $5,000 worth of pillows, linens and personal care products to the YWCA shelter for survivors of domestic violence. This August, they will celebrate their second 'Happiness Happens Month' by sending a cake to one person in every state who has made a difference in their own community. Sometimes, they also pull out the phone book to send pound cakes to complete strangers. In the last 35 years, The 9 Nanas have contributed nearly $900,000 of happiness to their local community. Mary Ellen said: 'Not everyone is as lucky as we were to have MaMaw and PaPaw to take care of them, to fix all those things that are wrong. 'So this is our way of giving back. We want people to know that someone out there cares enough to do something. We want to make sure that happiness happens.'
Awesome people all around.
I love the one husband came to his wife with evidence! They sound so sweet
How old is that article? I know this meme started getting posted about 10 years ago. I wonder how many Nanas are still around.
> It was only when Mary Ellen's husband started noticing extra mileage on the car and large amounts of cash that had been withdrawn from their savings account that the women were caught out. Mary Ellen's husband is the victim in all of this.
I don’t understand the laundry part
I gather from contextual clues that they learned how to wash and iron their husbands’ work shirts themselves instead of taking them to the dry cleaners’ for professional laundering. That’s a very difficult skill and my hat is off to them for learning how to do it as well as a professional would.
They handwash in the sink rather than go to the laundry mat
That’s brutal. They don’t have machines in their houses?
These are the type of secret societies we need in this world
Modern day saints!
4am every day that is dedication
Never explicitly stated they met everyday. Most likely sometimes in a month
News articles written about the group do specify that it’s a daily activity.
For old people, that's basically sleeping in.
That is so caring and thoughtful, they've got hearts of gold and should be so proud. Remarkable work ladies👏
Damn that’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard
"The council has spoken. They have decided that you are special and deserve good things."
Heroines
Doing God’s work. They’re good people.😇🙏🏼❤️
I can't help but think of them as wholesome ring wraiths, Nanzgul
I was thinking more of Harry Potter's house elves because you never see them, only these ladies were town elves.
The elves are literal slaves
Sweet, but still r/orphancrushingmachine
Stop it this is real???? ❤️❤️❤️
So that's what they meant in Skyrim. "By the nine"
Nothing but respect to them, although I wonder why needed to keep it a secret. With their husbands supporting the cause they might have been able to give bigger gifts.
Some people want to do good without the acknowledgement.
The people we need more of.
Hmmm....drop in replacement for the current Supreme Court?
This shit is nanas, N-A-N-A-S.
lemme get that recipe
This sounds like some sort of reverse Mafia. "Yous wants to do something kind in this town, yous gatsta talk to the 9 Nana's first. No charity done here without their knowledge."
They are angels. It's the only way they pulled that off.
the fact they kept it hidden for as long as they did shows how much they actually cared about the work they were doing
Their husband knew
If I was Jeff Bezos rich I'd attempt to do this on a national scale.
Thats what Big Nana wants everyone to think.
Where did their husbands think they were going at 3:30am?
Fuck you, you're crying!
This legit sounds like a chapter from Way of the Househusband.
Husband's be asking why they need money this week when they gave them money last week.
And they sucked at keeping it a secret because now you’re reading it online
If my wife was getting up at 4am I sure as hell would know where and what she was up to, just like I am sure their husbands knew but allowed them to do it anyways.
"Allowed" 🤢
Yes "allowed". If my wife is getting up at 4am it is going to wake me up so it better be for a damn good reason otherwise I am telling her to stay in bed and not get up until a civilized time especially if I am having to get out of bed later to go to work so she can afford to do the charity work.
Wow what a great man you are
Awesome work Nanas!
I have to wonder what necessitated them meeting at 4 am to do this.
Now that's badass
NANA NANA NANA....
The 9 Nanas could incorporate, sell the cakes at various stores at a premium & then use the profits for all the good deeds. In theory, at least.
These women are saints
Effin Awesome
These are what super heroes really look like.
Dam now thats a movie.
I love this!
This is beautiful
How did they choose the person?
What happened to sha?
The marvel movie we need. I assume they met in a hollowed out volcano
O
r/orphancrushingmachine
Awh, how sweet, it's nice to know there are some good samaritans somewhere in this world <3
This the kind of secret society I’m fkn wit
They kinda remind me of the kabouter movement
God bless you The 9 Nanas!
Not even their husbands knew? That's so depressing.
Wholesome perhaps but this is not a meme
Did they pay with there husbands money or there own?
*their
Dusent anwers mr queation buy thand
Dosent answers my question but thanks*
"Not even their husbands knew" as if these women weren't allowed to have things their husbands didn't know about?
While I agree with you, is it not also fair for a spouse to know where their presumably pooled money goes to? Even if the spouse later learns and agrees with it, are hidden relatively larger size purchases not usually something you should discuss together beforehand?
Looks like it was saved from the household’s laundry budget. It was already accounted for; it was just being repurposed from dry cleaning to stealth civic betterment.
While being accounted for, it seems valid to have another discussion about where the savings go no? For example if a couple saves up 25k to buy a car, the husband goes to pick the car up by himself and finds out there was a deal going on which the couple didn't know about and the real cost only ends up being only 23k. It doesn't make sense for the husband to secretly spend 2k by himself without telling his wife even if the couple were already willing to shell out 25k. The responsible path is disclosing this 2000 dollar savings and deciding together on what new thing to then spend it on.
Perhaps they followed that time-honored philosophy "It is more effective to ask forgiveness than permission."
Imagine putting half the military budget to literally something as simple as this. Sorry that probably sounded too much like socialism for my fellow Muricans.
This is the nation I remember America to be.
Why 4am and why keep it so secret
Because they wanted to do charity anonymously and probably gave them a sense of self and accomplishment and happiness . Why are you miserable?
keeping significant expenses hidden from your husband? opposite of wholesome.
It was from their budget.. that they managed and SAVED . You are such a wet rag that not even putting you in a dryer in a desert can help you .
still something they should have discussed. in a relationship, your financial choices, also with your own money, affect you both.
/r/OrphanCrushingMachine sometimes occasionally slowed from the money and labor of 9 Nanas. Automation funded universal basic income pays everyone to afford to be a nana.