Erma Bombeck was born on February 21, 1927, in Dayton, Ohio. When she was young she fell in love with reading and books fairly quick. When she was just 13 years old she began her life in journalism. She first started writing for her High School newspaper when she was thirteen and was very good at it. At the age of 15, she got a job at the Dayton Herald where she was a copy girl. After she graduated High School, she began working for the Journal Herald where she wrote obituaries. She used the money she made from this job to pay for her college tuition at Ohio University. She soon however transferred to the University of Dayton to be closer to her family. She was upset about moving to the new school and was nervous about paying for her tuition. An advisor later came up to her and recommended that she started writing again. Erma began writing again for the University newspaper. Erma graduated in 1949 and she became the first to graduate from her family.
Working to Housewife to Working Housewife
Erma started working at the Dayton Journal-Herald for the women’s sections. She loved to write and work, but she soon began to feel like she was not doing enough. While Erma was starting work, she was writing letters to Bill Bombeck while he was fighting in the Korean War. When Bill came back, they soon got married at the age of 22. After Erma and Bill got married, Erma stopped working to be a full-time stay-at-home mom and housewife. However, after her first child, she began to write again about her life as a housewife. She wrote specifically for other housewives in the Dayton area. Her columns became so famous that she got her job at the Journal Herald again where she continued to write columns. The Journal Herald then sold her column to the Syndicate, which was sent all over the United States. Her column "At Wit's End" was in 38 papers across the United States. Five years later, over 500 papers had her column featured in it.
From Paper to the Screen
After Erma rose to fame in the newspapers, she began writing books. She published 13 books in total. Erma’s Book The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank became a bestseller which made her become even more popular. A producer named Bob Shanks reached out to Erma about a new television morning show called, Good Morning America. At first, Erma was not interested in joining the show at all, however, she said yes and was on the show for 11 years. Later a movie adaptation of The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank was made and it was a failure and critics did not like the movie at all. However, Erma got licensed for situation comedy and pitched a show to the producers of the Cosby Show. The producers loved the idea and they made it happen. The show was based on her own family life and she wrote 5 of the 8 scripts. The show was later canceled and she was asked to make another show but she turned it down.
Why Erma was so Adored and her Legacy
Erma was so adored because of her comedy and because she found her niche with housewives. She understood how lonely and boring it was to be a housewife so she wanted to bring joy and laughter to other women who were housewives. Erma was also tired of the stereotypes given to women and housewives and used her writing as a platform to make light of the situation. The women reading also had the same beliefs and were really related to Erma. Erma was also a voice for the Equal Rights Amendment. She did not want anything to do with politics but found herself appointed to the President’s National Advisory Committee for Women. This confused many because she loved being a housewife but advocated for equal rights. She debuted this with the fact that she wanted to be a voice for her children. Today, Erma is recognized in a workshop under her name at the University of Dayton to honor her legacy.
Ohio reading road trip: Erma Louise Bombeck Biography. Ohio Reading Road Trip | Erma Louise Bombeck Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https://www.orrt.org/bombeck/
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