Resident Stories
Ms. Anna Colbert | Ms. Elizabeth Shockley | Mr. Steve Coyle
Ms. Anna Colbert
Sitting in the court yard of 1514-16 Elm, other wise known as the Fulda, I am astounded by Ms. Anna's age. "85!" I say, "Wow!" She comments that she isn't as agile as she was when she was 60, but I disagree. Moving to Cincinnati when she was 10 years old, Ms. Anna has called Over-the-Rhine her home for over 70 years. She has lived on Vine, McMicken, Wade, Race and Elm. She has called the Fulda, on of OTR Community Housing's larger buildings, home since 1981.
For the past 20 years she has been retired from her housekeeping job with St. Francis/ St. George. But she keeps herself active, by being involved with Over-the-Rhine organizations like OTR Community Housing and going to church at New Prospect. Just last week she was present at a local liquor license hearing in order to voice her opinion.
Sitting back in a lawn chair the nostalgia of years past seems to wave over me as she reminisces. "I have seen a lot of folks come and ago ... a lot of people living in the neighborhood have gone on home (to Heaven). Thank the Lord that I have made it this far" she sighs.
I ask her why she has stayed in the neighborhood for so long. She answers, "Everything was handy. I could get anything coming home." She never did get her driver's license, so staying in the city was convenient with public transportation. I am then amused to here her stories of AAA driving school. "When I saw how crazy they drive out there ..." she comments shaking her head.
The stories of her life are filled with laughter, dashed with her wily spirit, and sprinkled with sadness - they are delicious to hear. Since winter is coming soon she is worried about it getting cold. "Why one winter it got so cold that the boilers (in the Fulda) quit workin'!" she exclaims, "We all stayed at the Drop Inn where it was nice and warm."
She goes on to recount the various residents of the Fulda. She remarks that they are more than her neighbors, they are her friends. It seems to me that the system of neighboring that OTR Community Housing encourages in its buildings is reflected in Ms. Anna and how she relates to her neighbors. There is community there - as residents walk in and out, they stop and say hi. They all know each other on a first name basis and look out for one another.
Even though Ms. Anna regrets not getting a better education, she has taught me more in the hour that we spoke than any school education I ever had.
Ms. Anna was interviewed by Bethany Weber October 2005. This essay was written by Bethany Weber.
Ms. Elizabeth Shockley
Ms. Elizabeth Shockley (better known as Ms. Liz) and I sit at her kitchen table drinking some coffee sprinkled with hazelnut creamer. She lives right under Ms. Anna Colbert in the Fulda. The Fulda is one of OTR Community Housing's larger buildings on Elm Street. Her apartment is cozy and reflects a vibrant life - pictures of family and friends make the fridge disappear and green plants line the window sills. I have only just met Ms. Liz, but she welcomes me with such warmth and eagerness!
Ms. Liz is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. Her family moved to Cincinnati when she was a young teenager. "What a change it was moving from Atlanta to here!" she remarks. She lived in the West End and attended Seton High School. She remembers hanging out at "The Poor Center" which was similar to the Rec Center where kids could congregate and play in the neighborhood.
After graduating from high school her life started to move faster - she got married, her husband went over seas, and when he came back they moved back to Atlanta. Things just kept speeding up - "Atlanta is a fast city, if you don't play the game you'll get run over," Ms. Liz interjects as she begins to recount the harder years of her life. In Atlanta she had a good job working at the Post Office, but there was a lot of partying. "Everyone was partying all the time," she notes as she shakes her head. At the time she didn't think it, but she had a problem with alcohol and drugs. "I just didn't think it cause I had a job and was educated," she recalls.
In 1990 she found herself back in Cincinnati with her mother and still living in the fast lane - hanging out with friends and partying a lot. "You would have thought that a brief stint in jail for an open container and public intoxication would have shaken me up!" she exclaims. But it wasn't until the holiday season of 1995 that she really hit rock bottom. After going out with friends, they dropped her off downtown. "I didn't have any way home, but I knew where the Drop Inn was." What she thought would be a one night stay turned into 5 months. "I could have gone home to my mother, but I stayed." As she began to talk to other residents at the Drop Inn, she realized just how much of her life she was taking for granted. It was during that time that she finally surrendered and began the long process of recovery.
When she graduated from recovery, she moved from the Drop Inn to OTR Community Housing housing. "OTR Community Housing gave me housing when no one else would - you know, with a record of substance abuse it's hard," says Ms. Liz. After 5 months she found a new home in the Fulda where she has stayed for the past 10 years. "I didn't have anything when I moved in but the money that the Drop Inn helped me put away in little envelopes."
I ask Ms. Liz why she has stayed in Over-the-Rhine instead of moving closer to family in other areas of Cincinnati. "Why not?!" she replies. "These people (residents of the Fulda) are my friends. I have gone through 8 surgeries and they have been there for me," she explains. Ms. Liz is giving back as well - she has made it her job to help her neighbors/friends who can't get out. She pays their rent, picks up medicine, and checks in on them once in awhile.
Even though she still has a full time job she takes time out to tell others her story. She has spoken to school groups, churches, and other organizations. "I don't preach. I don't tell them what to do or how to do it. I'm just honest and tell them my story." Her story has been inspirational - helping to spur groups to donate and continue the work of OTR Community Housing and the Drop Inn. Even as we talk Ms. Liz comments that the elderly in the Fulda will be needed space heaters. So, we begin to organize for that project.
I ask her if she has any advice to give about life. She says, "Be honest with yourself. I don't push anyone because I know that eventually something will touch them. When they see me they say 'Ms. Liz I wish I could be like you.' I tell them - 'when you get ready, I'll be here.'" Those words sum up Ms. Liz - always open, always eager to help those who need her.
Ms. Liz was interviewed by Bethany Weber October 2005. This essay was written by Bethany Weber.
Mr. Steve Coyle
The Fulda stands witness to the cliché "hard work pays off." For about a century, the building has stood strong on Elm Street. Steve Coyle, a tenant in The Fulda, also knows what hard work and a good foundation can yield. After staying at the Drop-Inn Center, and living at Recovery Hotel for a year, Steve moved into his Elm Street apartment sober and strong. Five years later, Steve still lives in his OTR Community Housing apartment at The Fulda, and it doesn't look the same anymore. Steve has been investing time and energy in his surroundings to improve his quality of life, and the quality of life his fellow tenants also enjoy.
Recently, Steve finished restoring the hallways on both side of The Fulda. "It took me three weeks a side," Steve says "six weeks all together." In six weeks, Steve changed the face of the stairs, lower walls and banisters. "The high school volunteers on Saturdays did most of the sanding," Steve says. "I just did a little sanding and used polyurethane." The banister shines, as does Steve's personality, and both make a climb up the stairs a little brighter.
Steve's positive attitude and determination made the project a mission. "I worked sometimes eight or nine hours a day," Steve says, "six days a week." Steve has also retiled the bathroom, hallway and kitchen floors of his apartment, which further represents his desire to improve his quality of life. The determination Steve has to improve life at The Fulda extends to his participation on the Board of Trustees. "I've been on the board for two years," Steve says, "and I am a member of the Quality of Life Committee."
Now that Steve is working again, he doesn't expect to take on another major restoration project. He will, however, continue working to improve life in OTR Community Housing buildings by being a member of the Board of Trustees and Quality of Life Committee. "I think the idea is that you have a say in your living conditions," Steve says. Without question, Steve has had a say in his living conditions, and been willing to do the work necessary to achieve his goals.
In addition to the hard work he put into the hallway project, Steve received total cooperation from his neighbors while he did the paint work. "I painted one half of the hallway, and then the other so everybody could still use it," Steve says. "And everybody was real nice about it and said they like it when it was done." The Fulda was built well, Steve's work has added to its character and Steve knows the community in OTR can be built well too.
This essay was written Spring 2004.