Today would have been my mother’s 100th birthday. She was a feisty, gutsy woman who never backed down, ever.
I thought I might share one story.
When the town of Steamboat Springs was discovered by the trust fund snots and rapid growth started, traffic became a problem. My mother, who had moved on into real estate sales from the US Forest Service, ran for city council on a platform that Steamboat need traffic lights. She lost the election but remained a thorn in the side of one and all.
One day the city put up traffic lights at three intersections. Naturally, the townspeople ignored them. Then the Chief of Police pulled my mother over. The conversation went like this.
“Harriet, what is that in the over the street by the Space Station?”
“Oh, Ab! You put up traffic lights”.
“You didn’t notice us putting one up by your office?”
Dumb look. That is how my mother received the very first citation ever issued in Steamboat Springs, CO for running a red light.
As he was delivering the citation, Chief Ab Ritter said, “Sometimes Harriet, I just love my job”.
