Let's hear some background about you.
I grew up in the Kinsman area, around Ensign. After the Depression--around 1936--we moved to the Outhwaite Home projects, which was designed to help families in the Depression. No one really stayed too long. We bought a house in the Glenville area, and I lived there until I got married in 1953. My mother was a health teacher for the Cleveland Board of Education. She started that as a pilot program for the PTA: teaching kids about health and hygiene, and serving as a troubleshooter for students by going into their homes. My father was a steel mill worker and one of the founders of their local union. His forte was working with the company on safety.

I'm the oldest of five, although people really don't believe it [laughs]. I think I've always acted younger than the others. I'm two years older than my brother, and he tells people I'm his younger sister. Yet, when I was a young person, people said I was very serious. I believe it. I was always the one putting something together, like the school newspaper, or serving as the school president.

What influenced you to help others?
I've always been by nature the person to help someone. If there is a group of 10 people, and one of them needs help, I'll immediately think of how to help them. And then help develop the skills of other people. I get joy out of the success. I think I started that by working as a volunteer in my church. I've been active with Liberty Hill Baptist Church since I was 11. The church influenced a lot of the good things that I take part in. At an early age, I was a participant in oratorical contests they held. I've also been the assistant general superintendent of the church. I'm still involved there. Everything I've done in my life has always added another new dimension in my association with other people.

Do you have an example of such a dimension?
By being a council person, I now know how to utilize city resources that help my church carry out some of our programs. For example, we are about to build an assisted living building for seniors, and also have a youth retreat. I'm able to help them with the formative stage, putting the structure together. I'm coming in as a consultant.

What did you do before you became a councilwoman?
After I got out of John Hay High Business School, I was a clerical worker for the Family Service Association. There I was introduced to the fields of social work and mental health. Every time I was promoted I took classes to learn more about a particular field.

In 1966, Benjamin Rose asked me to assist in the supervision of the research department, which was called Associates in Gerontology at the time [it is now called The Margaret Blenkner Research Institute]. They were conducting a study whose findings were used to help form Medicare B. Its goal was to determine if supportive services could help older people live in their homes independently, mainly with the help of home care aides.

We picked our research participants from the Benjamin Rose Hospital [now defunct, it was perhaps the first of its type devoted to rehabilitative care of older people]. There were two variables: those who went home and had their families and friends help them; and those who were helped by a professional team, made up of a home health aide, social worker, physical therapist and a nurse. The results showed that the ones who had family helping them did just as well as those who received professional help. But the family members got burned out. That's when we began to explore new ways in which we could assist the caregivers. Agencies like Benjamin Rose began to establish home care aide departments. In 1971, I became the director of Homemaker-Home Health Aide Services at Benjamin Rose.

In 1966 when people came to Benjamin Rose, they would be only 60 or 62 years old and very ill. Once we implemented home care, they began to live longer. This study showed that if people had health care in the early years, they wouldn't need intervention for some crisis at a later time. By Medicare coming into their lives at age 65, people were given free health care, which is an early intervention. Insurance was not as prevalent then. The doctors fought it, just like they're fighting national health care.

Are you a proponent of national health insurance?
Yes, because that way everyone gets insurance. If you have more money than I, you can buy whatever you want, but at least you get your basic needs met. I realized the benefit of this when I went to a home care conference in England in 1974 and saw how they used national health care.

How many people are in your ward?
Over 42,000, according to a poll by Case Western Reserve. The census was off, and they thought this ward was only about 29,000. It runs between Buckeye and Harvard, then Shaker Boulevard and down to 93rd. We have the largest community (city) park in the state, Luke Easter Park. It's got 12 baseball diamonds, 10 tennis courts, and the Zelma George Recreation Center, which includes roller skating. It also has a junior high school football field and a soccer field that's used by Benedictine High School.

Who was Luke Easter?
Luke Easter once lived in the community, and he was a Cleveland Indians home run hitter. We have a very successful program we started with the 1990 Indians. A young man involved in the area told me we could get money from the Indians for the park. We sat in my house and he put down the statistics: how many bats we needed, etc., and I wrote the "beg" letter. A year later, we found ourselves standing in front of Luke Easter Park with a sign this big [motions with wide hands] with "$25,000" on it! Sandy Alomar and Albert Belle and others were there. We used it for purchasing supplies like batting machines. We taught the "pee wee" kids to bat, and the others who were bigger to use the batting machine. Once a year, the Indians would have all the baseball teams that played at Luke Easter come down to the old Municipal Stadium and march on the field. They gave a history of Luke Easter. It really affected these kids' character. Now some of these kids are winning in the Class F league. That was because of a lot of peoples' participation.

Tell me about some of your greatest accomplishments as a Councilwoman.
I was proud I was drafted to City Council. That's why I decided to leave Benjamin Rose. A group of women from different Democratic organizations got together to put me in charge of the ward. My promise to the community was to take a middle class neighborhood that was regressing and return it to the standards we were accustomed to. It began with improving the housing stock, which required the utilization of inspections, compliance of housing codes, and involving the community through street clubs and committees. In our ward, we have improved the housing stock to where the homes are valued at 30% to 40% more than they were.

This year, we were able to push the idea that the value of your house is even higher if your neighbor's house complements yours. We didn't have any trouble getting folks to fix up their houses. I've used funds from the community block grant that has been allocated to me over the last 10 years. The grant assists those not able to make home repairs--107 homes per year. Meanwhile, people who are able have been motivated to hit their own funds. So if you walk through the community, you'll see a cleaner, brighter neighborhood.

I'm also proud of over 300 new homes we have in the ward. There were 125 empty lots where we've built new houses. We also have two new housing communities. We took one little block of land, called Herron Road at Kingsbury, and built on it. It had been a dark, empty lot that had been mistreated. We turned it around with the help of National City Bank and Zaremba Design; Lutheran Housing Corporation helped us the most. The community is suburban-type housing, but it blends in with the neighborhood, and it's affordable.

Then, we're building higher-priced homes at Reservoir Place, where an old water reserve once was. We're taking advantage of it being next to Luke Easter Park. Our ward's problem was our children would go to college and never come back. Now people are moving back into the neighborhood.

How would you describe yourself?
I inherited this from my grandfather according to my mothers' relatives: My grandfather was known as a builder of churches. He would talk a lot, and would help people understand about being patient. And I think that's what I do--I talk a lot, and tell people to think and put their ideas in a positive light. If you think negative, it's like walking in mud. If you think positive, it's like swimming. And the more you move debris as you swim, the faster you are moving.

What do you plan to do after you retire?
Come back and be an advocate for health care. Now I know how to work with the politicos, from the House of Representatives up to the President. My first political experience was in 1984, when I worked with Benjamin Rose. We attempted to get all of the home care workers certified. We were successful in getting it passed in the House, but not the Senate. We were disappointed, and went to the National Home Care Association. A woman out of an agency in Cincinnati and myself informed them of our disappointment. The Association's director took the bill and information to Sen. Claude Pepper, Sen. Rockne, and Sen. Boxer. They conducted a Senate study that came out with a paper called "The Black Box," and that was where they revealed money from Medicare/Medicaid was being used by untrained people. So it became mandatory that home care aides be trained and certified. Now I understand how to get resolutions to pass. I would like to repeal the 1997 mandate in health care. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is going to help.

I also plan to help develop a strong advisory board for the Mt. Pleasant Boys and Girls Club. The parents aren't aware what they could do to help promote it. So I thought I would help them. Mt. Pleasant has a high number of retirees: teachers, post office workers, folks with good positions. I figure I can help bring them together. Exposure is a big factor: when you expose people to each other, you can get some gems.

How long ago did your husband pass away?
In 1996. He spent four years at Margaret Wagner House [The Benjamin Rose Institute's former nursing home], where he got excellent care. It's unfortunate. He had a stroke that knocked out his communications system that was caused by the heart. He was a jazz and classical musician. He played for 50 years. He was a baritone and tenor saxophone player. He drove RTA so he could play music. He was a million-mile, accident-free driver.

Do you have a special philosophy on aging?
First of all, I come from longevity. My grandmother was really 107; she stayed 99 three years. Until I told her she was missing out on the party [laughs]. My female relatives lived to be 98 to 100 on my mother's side. They had diabetes and hypertension. I'm a diabetic but I didn't know it for the longest time. I don't take any shots; I just get up in the morning and that's it. My family's philosophy is that you are involved. You don't stop to think about how old you are, you look around and you are.

One of the hobbies I have is directing weddings. I'm a part-time florist trained from Hixson's florists. I wanted to have my own business: Odelia's Flower Baskets. I couldn't do it full-time because I was working at Benjamin Rose. I had about five years experience of a very good part-time floral business, specializing in weddings. But I realized some of those kids whose weddings I directed and made flowers for were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversaries and had kids coming out of college. That's when it dawned on me I was getting old.

What do you do in your free time?
For a long time I was a football fan. Clarence and I were season ticket holders. We would entertain at different friends' homes. I like concert music; I'm not really into jazz as much as he was. I attend concerts and plays.

Would you say you still act young?
Everyone seems to think that. What keeps me useful is the use of my mind. And I like anything I do to be the best I can do. I try not to satisfy anyone but myself. In politics you learn that's best. People have their own agenda, but you know where you're going, so you have to say "I'm sticking with my direction." I'm regarded as stubborn.