SUMMERHILL - For 50 years, Florence Lansdowne has been a mender of scraped knees, a chauffeur, a cook, a craftswoman, a barber and an advocate for the residents of Summerhill.
In addition to raising six sons and two daughters, Lansdowne, 82, often was a second mother to the other children in the area.
Now some of those town residents are looking to return the favor, albeit under unfortunate circumstances.
On March 7, Lansdowne's home at 13430 Route 90 was destroyed in a fire. She was able to salvage little - and has no homeowner's insurance to cover costs.
“There seemed to be so many people that I crossed paths with that wanted to do something, they just didn't know what,” said Summerhill resident Linda Plunkett, who was friends with Lansdowne's children and has stayed in contact with her “second mother” through the years.
Plunkett and a committee of nearly 20 people have since organized two benefits for Lansdowne: a jamboree and chicken barbecue, and a Mother's Day breakfast.
Fire or no, paying tribute to Lansdowne's contributions to the community is long overdue, Plunkett added.
Lansdowne settled in Summerhill in 1946 after marrying Clyde, who died from cancer in 2004. The two enjoyed the rural atmosphere and the people in the area; they raised eight children (who have produced 17 grandchildren and, subsequently, 20 great-grandchildren.)
There was always something going on at the Lansdowne residence, whether it was throwing around a baseball or tending to the pet skunk, raccoon or goat.
“It was the best place in town to go to play,” Plunkett recalled as she and Lansdowne laughed about events and people from their shared past.
In addition to caring for children in the community, for 24 years, Lansdowne served as the cook and house mother to the young men at Cornell University's Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The students were like her own boys, she said, and she still keeps in touch with about 50 of them.
Today, Lansdowne is known around town for her blueberries - she cultivates 200 plants and sells the fruit each summer - and her quilts, which she makes for residents and neighbors.
“I don't do it for perfection,” Lansdowne said of her quilting hobby. “I do it because I enjoy it. Perfection is too boring for me.”
She was also the Summerhill historian for a year-and-a-half and frequently attends town board meetings, where she takes copious notes.
“If there was a problem anywhere in town and anybody needed anything, you knew if it was in Florence's power, she'd do it,” Plunkett said.
Such a determined attitude explains Lansdowne's ability to face tough times. In the early 1970s, Lansdowne and her husband lost a different house - the one where Plunkett used to play - also to a fire.
The more recent fire, which started in the chimney, destroyed all of her possessions, including Clyde's commendation from the French consulate for his fighting during World War II and a near-finished necktie quilt for her granddaughter that she had been working on for three years.
While the losses are disheartening, Lansdowne refuses to get herself down about them.
“You can feel sorry for yourself and make yourself sick,” she said, “or you can just go on and make the best of every day.”
For now, Lansdowne is staying with her son. After the chicken barbecue and breakfast, and after she determines how much it's going to cost and what it will take, she plans to rebuild on the same location that now lies in blackened ruins.
Why?
“Because,” she said, “it's home.”
Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net
Now some of those town residents are looking to return the favor, albeit under unfortunate circumstances.
On March 7, Lansdowne's home at 13430 Route 90 was destroyed in a fire. She was able to salvage little - and has no homeowner's insurance to cover costs.
“There seemed to be so many people that I crossed paths with that wanted to do something, they just didn't know what,” said Summerhill resident Linda Plunkett, who was friends with Lansdowne's children and has stayed in contact with her “second mother” through the years.
Plunkett and a committee of nearly 20 people have since organized two benefits for Lansdowne: a jamboree and chicken barbecue, and a Mother's Day breakfast.
Fire or no, paying tribute to Lansdowne's contributions to the community is long overdue, Plunkett added.
Lansdowne settled in Summerhill in 1946 after marrying Clyde, who died from cancer in 2004. The two enjoyed the rural atmosphere and the people in the area; they raised eight children (who have produced 17 grandchildren and, subsequently, 20 great-grandchildren.)
There was always something going on at the Lansdowne residence, whether it was throwing around a baseball or tending to the pet skunk, raccoon or goat.
“It was the best place in town to go to play,” Plunkett recalled as she and Lansdowne laughed about events and people from their shared past.
In addition to caring for children in the community, for 24 years, Lansdowne served as the cook and house mother to the young men at Cornell University's Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The students were like her own boys, she said, and she still keeps in touch with about 50 of them.
Today, Lansdowne is known around town for her blueberries - she cultivates 200 plants and sells the fruit each summer - and her quilts, which she makes for residents and neighbors.
“I don't do it for perfection,” Lansdowne said of her quilting hobby. “I do it because I enjoy it. Perfection is too boring for me.”
She was also the Summerhill historian for a year-and-a-half and frequently attends town board meetings, where she takes copious notes.
“If there was a problem anywhere in town and anybody needed anything, you knew if it was in Florence's power, she'd do it,” Plunkett said.
Such a determined attitude explains Lansdowne's ability to face tough times. In the early 1970s, Lansdowne and her husband lost a different house - the one where Plunkett used to play - also to a fire.
The more recent fire, which started in the chimney, destroyed all of her possessions, including Clyde's commendation from the French consulate for his fighting during World War II and a near-finished necktie quilt for her granddaughter that she had been working on for three years.
While the losses are disheartening, Lansdowne refuses to get herself down about them.
“You can feel sorry for yourself and make yourself sick,” she said, “or you can just go on and make the best of every day.”
For now, Lansdowne is staying with her son. After the chicken barbecue and breakfast, and after she determines how much it's going to cost and what it will take, she plans to rebuild on the same location that now lies in blackened ruins.
Why?
“Because,” she said, “it's home.”
Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net
The Citizens' Say
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