The wind was blowing fiercely. Sleet was pounding against the windows. Yet inside Cris Branche's antique-filled Ludlow Community colonial all was cozy and warm as the world-traveled early childhood education expert, community activist and almost-octogenarian shared her views on personal responsibility, community activism and what it takes to age well in the 21st Century.

Tell readers a bit about yourself – when and where you were born and raised, where you went to school.

I'll be 80 on March 15th. I'm the oldest, then there are two brothers, both of whom ended up in television, and a sister. She ended up in early childhood education, too.

I was born in a little town south of Little Rock , Arkansas , called Duvall's Bluff. For the first several years I lived with my grandparents, then came to Cleveland when I was 7. We lived on 132nd, off Kinsman…in a house that my grandfather had built. Mother was a caterer. Dad worked for General Electric.

I grew up in a wonderful ethnic community. There were Eastern Europeans, Italians, Jews, people of color. We didn't recognize that as a big deal. I spoke Yiddish as a kid, because I learned it from the neighborhood kids. I went to Robert Fulton Elementary School , Alexander Hamilton [Junior High] and John Adams [High School.] When I graduated, 1946, I went to Case Western Reserve's Flora Stone Mather College for women. I was on scholarship, and I majored in Education.

I originally wanted to have a nursery school, but one day my advisor said to me: You don't want to do that. You'll spend most of your time on the business and very little time with children. Think about being a kindergarten teacher.

I did. My degree was K-3. Eventually I got a master's degree in Education and another in Administration.

You grew up during the Depression. How do you think that shaped the person you are today?

Back in my day, it was more your family who shaped who you were. Mother's catering business was big. She fed half the neighborhood because she'd bring things home from the big catering affairs she did…Mother felt that you shared whatever you could, that you had a responsibility to do that.

She was always telling me: It's your responsibility to do the best you can with what you have to work with…[and] that there are no special people, there are people who have developed their talents into something special. I think that advice kept me from being insecure.

You've got a degree in Primary Education. What drew you to little kids?

When I was growing up, I adored young children. I loved playing games with them and telling them stories.

My first job helped set the direction my career took. I was assigned to R. B. Hays School , but I was teaching in a satellite building that was part of a housing development between E. 55th and E. 40th. We had parents doing things right there in the classroom….This was Head Start before Head Start had started.

Speaking of Head Start, you were instrumental in getting the Head Start Program started in the Cleveland schools. How did that come about?

When Head Start came along in 1965, I was a kindergarten teacher. The Deputy Superintendent [of the Cleveland Municipal School District ] was in charge of organizing this first summer program and I got pulled in…and put in charge of curriculum and classroom activities. At the end of the summer, I was assigned to set up Head Start Programs in 15 schools. From the very beginning we made sure that parents were involved in the programs. [Note: Cris became a National Head Start Parent Program Specialist and trained teachers all over the United States . In 1972, she received the Governor's Award for her pioneering work in early childhood education]

Eventually I was put in charge of the school district's Division of Early Childhood Education. I retired from that Board in 1985 and went to work for WVIZ producing children's programs.

You've been a community activist for more than 60 years. What got you started in that?

I was doing things in the community from the time I was a kid. We were raised to go, help, do. It's common sense to get involved…but you know, common sense isn't all that common. I used to have that on my wall at the Board [of Education].

Peoples' impact on young children really makes a difference, so in the beginning my efforts were for kids.

We [she and husband Walter, a professor of history and Cleveland teacher, who died in 1996] were involved in the formation of the Ludlow Community Association, which was Cleveland 's first community integration project. It had its 50th Anniversary this year. We were the first people of color on our street.

I was involved in the Center for Families and other agencies that dealt with children and families. As a result of Head Start, I got involved with the International Christian Children's Fund. The most fascinating opportunity I every had was going to Africa and evaluating programs. Later I went to the Philippines and Japan .

I know we got off track here, because you asked about community activism, but it's all the same thing. Activism is helping folks manage better…on their own terms, wherever they are.

Right now, I'm very active with the Alzheimer's Association, with the same intent.

How did you become involved with the Alzheimer's Association?

Because of my mother, Miss Kitty. I went to visit her one day and the newspapers were all in their plastic sleeves and the books she'd ordered from the reading clubs were still in their shipping boxes. She loved to read.

When I asked her what was going on, she said: “Something's gone wrong in my head. I've lost my vocabulary.”

We made an appointment with the Foley [Elder Health] Center and that's when I found out she had Alzheimer's disease.

I'd never heard of it. Few people had, really, until people started living longer. I went to the Alzheimer's Association for help, for information. Before long, I'd become so active in the organization that I became president. For the last 8 years I've served on the National Board of the Association.

In May, you received a Golden Age Centers of Greater Cleveland 's Golden Achievement Award. What was the award for?

They called it the Award in Gerontology, and it was for my work with older people. I do a lot of programs and presentations in the community.

But an award for ‘old.'

Laughs] The award ceremony was interesting. I was the only female.

What do you think it is about you personally that makes you get involved in things?

The way I'm made, the way I'm stacked up, the way I was reared. I'm a responder. I never go out looking for things that need doing, but I'm always responding to needs…as I see them.

It's got to have something to do with the positive feedback I've been getting all my life. If you don't get positive feedback for what you are doing, you stop doing it – if you have any sense.

And since high school, I've been blest with opportunities that broadened my horizons for additional learning. I've been all over the world learning.

Stepping out of your own culture really enables you to see your own culture better. It's a tragedy when people get locked into their own culture, their own way of doing things. That is so limiting.

In your opinion, what are the major challenges seniors are facing right now?

Part of it is the loss of independence that seniors experience. Many seniors go into denial about this and don't really work out solutions to things before they become a crisis.

And there's fear of medical problems, too. That will snatch away your independence in a snap.

Fortunately, society has so drastically changed – seniors are everywhere – so people are being forced to think about both and to come up with solutions. Today, there's more and more accommodating housing for the elderly and there are more and more programs, too, to encourage seniors to stay active and involved – both physically and mentally. Staying mentally active is critical.

That's what I do with the Golden Age Centers, work on those kinds of programs.

You're the most energetic person I've run into in months! How do you stay so active?

[Laughs] I'm so much less energetic now than I was before my surgery last year. My sons Chip and Chris just laugh when I complain, and say: “Now you know how the rest of the world feels. You've always had too much energy.”

You're definitely aging successfully. What's your secret?

I'm generally in good health, but I can't take credit for that. It's genetic.

[Laughs] I stay engaged. I stay active. I stay committed to the things that matter. And I keep doing reality checks, so I know my limitations and work within them.

I tell people all the time, and I call it my 21st Century beatitude: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not get bent out of shape. People tend to be so rigid.

And I really believe that everyone has a mission on this earth. [Human rights activist] Zelma George was my godmother, and she was always saying that you have a responsibility for the space you take up on this earth, and when you are ultimately ask what you did with it, you'd better have a good answer.

At 79, are you doing what you thought you'd be doing when you retired?

I never thought about what I'd do when I retired. And I never thought about what I was doing after I left the Board or Channel 25 as retirement. [Laughs] I just, finally, stopped working full time. I'm still going, helping, doing.

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