Maxine Morrison, resident of Edgewood, has used her artistic talents to inspire others. Her hobbies include crochet, embroidery and sewing. “I used to design my own clothes and make them,” she said. She also paints. One of her landscapes hangs in the community room of the apartment complex where she used to live. Maxine writes poetry and music as well. “My mother was a musician. She played the organ and piano when she was 13 years old at church. She played by ear,” Maxine said. Like her mother, Morrison plays by ear and does not read music. “I taught myself to play guitar, and after that, I started writing poetry and put music to it, writing songs,” she said.

“The first poem I wrote was when the Challenger went down. I was watching it,” she said. She has more than 100 songs copyrighted through the Library of Congress. Maxine wrote a poem called “The Day the Eagle Cried” based on the events of September 11, 2001. That poem was published and given to the husband of one of the victims.

She was born in Kentucky, and was the second-youngest of 10 children. “We were all raised on a farm and then when my mother married my stepfather, I was raised in the coal mines.” When the mines began to run out of coal, many families migrated north to find work. Maxine’s family was one of those, and they moved to the area in 1955.

While she was in school, the former Maxine LeMaster met her husband. “I met him up here in high school, but we were from the same town in Kentucky. We had never met. That was really weird,” she said. Maxine is the mother of three, two boys and a girl. “I had been raised to take care of kids and cook, so that was no problem for me,” Maxine said.

Maxine came to Edgewood due to some health issues and a need for rehabilitation. “I have a lot of resilience. I’m a fighter,” she said. “I’ve come a long way. I’m a lot stronger.”

She has enjoyed her stay at Edgewood Manor. “This is a wonderful place to go. Boy, is it ever! The people and the medical attention you get are great,” she said. “It’s almost like I’ve been on vacation. The people have been so nice to me. I don’t think it even feels like a nursing home because everybody is always laughing and cheerful.”

Mother of five, grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of nine, Norma Allen loves her family.....and birthdays. “In March I’ll be 85. That’s not a young chick anymore,” she said. The Port Clinton resident was born in the Cleveland area as one of three children. “My grandmother had 12 children. Oh, she was a wonderful lady.”

“I can remember we didn’t have a lot, but we didn’t ask for much either. We always had a good time though.” For entertainment, her parents were likely to spend time visiting friends and family. Holiday time meant huge, wonderful gatherings. “We had them for quite some time in the basement of our home,” she said. The extended family would gather for potluck dinners and holiday cheer. “We’d sing songs and the little kids would perform,” Allen said. “It was fun times. In fact, I just love looking at an album of those years.”

“I liked the schools I went to. I liked Phys Ed better than anything, and I still do,” she said. She regularly encouraged her children to play outside, and still takes part in the daily exercise program as well as volleyball games at Edgewood especially since she played on a volleyball team for years.

She was married in 1949, and in the late 1950s moved to the area when her husband, a welder in the ship-building business, had a change of his employment location. Allen stayed home with her family. “I was really fortunate. I stayed home and raised my kids. Of course, that’s work, too. I loved every minute of it.” Her children, three girls and two boys, all live in the area.

Norma was an accomplished seamstress. “My mother was a seamstress. That’s how I learned to sew. I made all the kids’ clothes,” she said. “And I would make clothes for friends.” Allen also enjoyed ceramics. She spent some time working in real estate in a Port Clinton office which had a ceramic shop in the back. “I made some neat things for my kids.” In the past, she had been a busy volunteer at Peace Lutheran Church, and helped to organize craft bazaars there.

She said she’s very happy at Edgewood Manor, and especially likes being so close to her children. “I love it here,” she said with a smile.