Maggie Salutes ... Carol Ludwig

Carol Ludwig was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, the middle child / tomboy of three girls, attended Cathlothic schools, took piano lessons from the 3rd grade through high school, was guard on the varsity basketball team, softball short stop, glee club soprano, attended dances every weekend, and was a candy striper. She graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School, Class of 1970. Carol went right to work for Bell Atlantic as a teletype operator (90 words per minute, 2 errors, hired on the spot).

Jack, her husband of 32 years, and she met in her sophmore year of high school. They became engaged at her senior prom (Jack was in the Navy by then). Carol and Jack were married in 1971, after Jack's tour of duty in Vietnam. After being married one week, they went to San Diego for the last 18 months of Navy life. It was quite an education for an East Coast child bride. (Her father had had to go with them to get the marriage license since she had just turned 19 and she always said "it was the best $5 investment he ever made.")

They moved back to Philadelphia, where Carol returned to Bell ATlantic and Jack went to school. They lived ina basement apartment and later bought their first row home. They broke with tradition in 1976 and moved to the suburbs, purchasing a single home in Festerville, Bucks County. During that time Carol took two teays of guitar, two years of private voice, and one year of slide trombone lessons as well as being a girl scout leader for ten years. After living there for 24 years, Jack and Carol moved, so that they could make room for her two wonderful but deteriorating parents. They continued in that manner for eleven years but both parents had health challenges and they wre moved to a nursing facility. Carol's parents on year later and her father at age 85 has just moved into the Berlin Nursing Home. In January of 2000 they bought their vacation home in Ocean Pines. Jack's health gave them another scare that February, so Carol started looking online for jobs in the area. The perfect job came up in Milford, DE., she was interviewed and accepted by April and started work in May.

Carol was a technician for quire a few years, meaning that she climbed poles, traipsed in and out of peoples homes and businesses and really loved her job. In the eighties there were challenging times. for women in non-traditional jobs like Carol's. She took on another challenge by being the first technician to be promoted to foreman and she has been supervising techs (primarily men) for 16 years. In June, she took a job as a Right of Way Engineer.

She joined the Sweet Adelines in 1979, has been a regional faculty member since 1981, served as a Regional Board of Director, worked with middle/ high school choruses every year since 1990.

The Sweet Adelines is acappela singing in barber shop style, a uniquely American art form. The Delmarva club was formed in 2001 with seven members. There are now 28, with three of them from Deleware. The group passed all of the auditions for the Atlantic Bay Mountain Region 19 of Sweet Adelines International. They are now able to compete and will do so next April when the Regional Convention and Competition will be held in Ocean City. They meet every other Monday night in the OP Community Center or the Library. On OCtober 18 they are doing a show called Coffee, Tea & Harmony. Under the Harvest Under the Harvest Moon at the OP Community Hall. For more information about the Sweet Adelines and / or the show call Peggy Rogers at 410-208-9722.

Maggie salutes Carol Ludwig for her contributions to us through music and for breaking down several walls through her jobs.