Ask the Archivist
By MaryDan Cooper
Q: Can we learn more about those we lost who helped build 19WCA?
We have been saddened by deaths in recent years of so many neighbors who have contributed greatly to the success of the 19th Ward Community Association. As we now celebrate the Association’s 60th anniversary, we remember many of the movers and shakers who built and sustained the 19th Ward Community Association.
Florence Pearl Rugless O’Meally (1926-2021)
Pearl Rugless received the 19th Ward Community Association’s Hall of Fame award in 2019. At 93, when she received this award, she was sharp-witted and still committed to social justice. “I like to turn the ‘me’ into ‘we,’” she said, explaining how bringing people together and helping others has guided her life. Mrs. Rugless O’Meally was born April 6, 1926 in Berkshire Hall Linstead, Jamaica, West Indies. Pearl came to Rochester in the mid-1950s.
She found work cleaning houses and as a seamstress at Hickey Freeman and at Strong Memorial Hospital. Meanwhile, she went to beauty school and graduated in 1962. “Oh, that was a happy day. I was so proud of myself.” She told that to Jim Memmott, who visited with her when she was 93. He then featured her in one of his weekly “Remarkable Rochesterians” columns.
She opened Rugless Beauty Salon first on Jefferson Avenue and finally on Genesee Street. People came to her shop, lingered in the warmth of her presence, and became lifelong friends. “I saw the need for caring,” Pearl told Jim Memmott. “The kids were good, but they still needed help.”
She assisted many people moving here from the Caribbean islands. She helped them settle in and was a driving force behind the Caribbean Club of Rochester. As Jim Memmott wrote, “She has touched countless lives here. She has spent her life giving back, looking beyond differences in age and ethnic background and focusing on similarities that unite. The example of her life is to work hard, to stay the course despite setbacks. Her first marriage didn’t work out. Her second husband died. Life has not been easy, and yet, there’s a lilt in her voice, a joy in her heart.”
One of the reasons Rugless O’Meally was able to do so much is that she has had a vast network of friends, including younger women she has mentored, as well as public officials. “She had Louise Slaughter on speed dial,” said Patricia Hart, a retired Rochester City School District administrator who has known Rugless O’Meally for years.
Bettie Fitzpatrick Lindley (1941-2024)
Bettie was a key participant in building the 19th Ward Community Association over the course of 50+ years.
When Bettie was honored as Citizen of the Year in 1975, her volunteer positions included a stint as editor of Update 19, service as a District Delegate, membership in both the House Tour and Square Fair committees, and organizer of the Newcomers’ Picnic and previous CMOY (Citizen/Merchant of the Year) Dinners. All this while being a full-time Reading Resource teacher at Madison High and raising her three sons. “Bettie’s imagination is responsible for the beginnings of many 19WCA events and traditions. Her good spirits inspired many volunteers.”
(A side note about that Update 19 editorship: In February 1974, Bettie replaced Liz Brown as editor. September 1975 was her last issue. She, in turn, was replaced by Joyce Clifford. Joyce was editor until 1978, when Jon Wells took over. In 1979, Margaret Weiss became editor. This is just a shout-out to all who played their part keeping this Association relevant!)
Other establishments in the 19th Ward for which she worked tirelessly: She was on the Board of Sojourner House and on their Investment Committee. With her husband Chris, she organized the yearly Palm Sunday Breakfast at the Presbyterian Home. This was co-sponsored by three 19th Ward churches and the Southwest Family YMCA and was done in partnership with the 19th Ward Community Association. Past speakers included University of Rochester President Joel Seligman, Police Chief Michael Ciminelli and Mayor Lovely Warren. Some beneficiaries over the years included SWEM, Sojourner House, Teen Empowerment, Genesee Valley Little League, and the Southwest Family YMCA.
When the Arnett Y (which was constructed in 1922) closed in 1998, Chris and Bettie were on the Board that saw to it that a Y would remain in the 19th Ward. We can thank them (among others) for the fact that Thurston Road is still home to a YMCA Neighborhood Center.
Bettie was also active outside the 19th Ward. As just two examples, she was President of the local chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), where she started the Women Helping Girls mentor program, and served as the President of the Friends of Strong.
Christopher Lindley (1934-2016)
As Mary Anna Towler said in City Newspaper at the time of Chris Lindley’s death, “Rochester has lost an example of public service at its finest with the death of Chris Lindley, former City Council member and deputy mayor. … He participated in Martin Luther King’s March on Washington. He marched in Selma. And he threw himself into serving the adopted city he loved. … This deeply ethical person showed that it is possible for people to go into politics for the right reasons. And do the right things. Right now, it’s awfully good to have that example.”
Chris Lindley ran for City Council in 1971, beating a three-time Republican incumbent. He then represented southwest Rochester for twelve years. He was a serious proponent of innovative housing rehabilitation and neighborhood development programs.
“Looking back now, at our age, it’s hard to think of us as young radicals,” City Councilwoman Carolee Conklin said at the time of Chris’ death. “But basically, those were the folks who were changing the political scene in the ’70s and ’80s, when Democrats were taking over the city. It was a powerhouse council. A lot of money was pouring into the cities for development at that time, and they were pretty much the stewards of how that money got spent.”
In 1989, Mayor Ryan appointed him deputy mayor and he served until 1993. One of his fellow politicians said upon his death, “He made me proud to be active in politics.” And Carolyn Argust said, “Our family, our neighborhood, and our city were blessed by his leadership, generosity, and caring.”
Chris and Bettie were very supportive of 19th Ward activities. They opened their beautiful home for House Tour and hosted Candlelight Dinners. For several Association fundraising auctions they offered stays at their cottage on Keuka Lake. The Association benefitted from Chris’s knowledge and guidance as a member of the Finance Committee, and this was never more important than in 2006 and 2007 when an Endowment fund was being set up at Rochester Area Community Foundation.
Ione Taber “Grandma” Collins (1910 – 2004)
Ione Taber Collins moved to Rochester and the 19th Ward neighborhood from Dallas, Texas in 1972 at age 62 to be near her grandchildren and daughter Mitzie.
As soon as Ione arrived in the 19th Ward she noticed that there were many children in the neighborhood whose grandparents lived in other cities and she became everyone’s grandma, adopting the name “Grandma Collins.” During these early years she hosted the “Literature and Hard Candy Society” for neighborhood children and their families where they read classic literature and enjoyed snacks together.
Grandma cared deeply for all of the residents of the 19th Ward. She especially showed this immense care, love, and support through her steadfast dedication to the YMCA on Arnett Boulevard as a gathering space for all people for education, exercise, and spiritual growth. Through her advocacy as a member of the Southwest YMCA Board of Management she ensured that the YMCA maintained a location in the neighborhood after the Arnett Branch was closed. The Youth Enrichment Center at the new YMCA on Thurston Road is named in her honor, as is the annual Grandma Collins Memorial Flower Sale highlighting her love of gardening and colorful flowers brightening the neighborhood.
Grandma served on several other Boards in Rochester enriching the lives of 19th Warders and all Rochesterians, including the Unity Health System Citizens’ Advisory Board, and eight years on the City of Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals, two of which were as Board president.
Grandma loved the visual arts and teaching people how to quilt, crochet, do needlepoint, and paint — especially still-life portraits and Sumi-e Japanese style painting. She loved tending plants, indoors and in her splendid garden. She regularly hosted the annual summer 19th Ward Women’s Soiree in her spacious backyard on Wellington Avenue.
Grandma was an active parishioner at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Chili Avenue. Her awards included the 19th Ward Citizen of the Year Award in 1988, the Community Foundation Philanthropy Award in 2001, the Greater Rochester YMCA Red Triangle Award in 1996, and the Al Sigl Center Gathering of Hearts Award in 1994, when a classroom was named in her honor at the Mary Cariola Center at the Al Sigl Center. She was elected to the 19th Ward Hall of Fame in 2001.
Q: How have previous anniversaries been celebrated?
Since the 19th Ward Community Association was founded in 1965, this is an anniversary year! It’s time to celebrate 60 years of successes. Here’s some of what I found in the archives about previous anniversary celebrations:
30th Anniversary Gala in 1995
Twenty-one Urban By Choice street banners, featuring portraits of 19th Ward residents, were installed along Thurston Road in June 1994. Many of those who had posed for the photographs marched as a unified group in the Square Fair parade that year. The banners then suffered a long cold winter. After inspection of the banners in 1995, they were replaced (by the original production company at no expense to 19WCA), and were looking good in time for the 30th anniversary celebrations in the summer of 1995.
Festivities began on Friday evening, Sept 15, 1995, with the premier presentation of the video “Portrait of a Community” (produced by Marcy Ramich and funded by the Rundel Library) at City Hall. This was followed by a Wine and Cheese reception in the Atrium, at which time Urban by Choice porch banners were unveiled, past presidents were honored, and there were proclamations by the City.
40th Anniversary in 2005
The Association’s first (and only) Lilac Festival float was the result of one of the “best team-building exercises anyone could imagine. Construction “Manager” Peter Evans’ backyard was the hub of activity for a few weeks as the farm wagon on loan from Morse Lumber was transformed in to a “typical 19th Ward living room.” Members painted, wallpapered, glued, nailed, installed lights and leaded doors, built a fireplace, spread “grass,” and installed a fence—with an amazing final product. The float then went into temporary storage so that it could make an appearance at Square Fair.”
50th Anniversary celebration in 2015
Jay Ross was the winner of the 50th anniversary Design Contest. Her wonderful design was used on postcards that publicized special activities such as Corner Cookouts, Porch Fest, Citizen/Merchant of the Year Dinner, and House Tour. The design continues to build neighborhood pride—To this day, any time neighbors are gathered for dinner or coffee, wine glasses and mugs bearing the design are brought out. People from the neighborhood, as well as many who had moved away, came to the June 5, 2015 picnic to celebrate the 50th Anniversary with us. The Annual Convention at Danforth House in 2015 was extra-special, with a birthday cake, dancing to music that was popular through the 50 years, an RCSD Show Choir, and the announcement of the raffle winner: the handcrafted 19th Ward T-shirt quilt (made and donated by Cele Jackson) went to Landy Atkinson.
Early 19WCA history for this and other articles has been gleaned from “A History of the 19th Ward Community Association, 1965-1979” by Mim Bush and Margaret Weiss.
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