Lucinda C.

Lucinda grew up in Columbus, in the Hilltop neighborhood. As a baby Lucinda went to daycare at the Circus house in Victorian Village. The house was originally owned by the Sells family, who ran the Sells Brother Circus from 1871-1875, long before Lucinda ever stepped foot in the building. Lucinda is the oldest of five children and cared for her siblings for most of her childhood. As a result, she had to grow up very quickly, but enjoyed going to daycare because it was the one place she was able to just be a kid and not worry about her siblings.

Lucinda really looked up to her father. One of her favorite memories of childhood is going downtown with her father on the bus.  She thought her dad  knew everyone because he would strike up a conversation with everyone he encountered. She slowly realized he was meeting them for the first time. You’ll often hear Lucinda say she’s never met a stranger, just friends she hasn’t met yet. She certainly exemplifies her dad’s approachability and ability to relate to people of all backgrounds and experiences. 

When she was a young adult, she became her father’s caregiver while also raising her first child. This is partially why when you see her today she finds joy in the simple things - spending time with friends and enjoying the sights throughout Columbus. Now that she’s retired and no longer a daily caregiver to her family members, she is finally able to be her true self and relax. 

Lucinda worked for most of her adult life in the printing industry. She went to vocational school for offset printing while in high school. One of her longest jobs was for Huntington Bank, where she worked at the printing shop for 7 years. She also worked for Batelle for a number of years printing signs. 

Lucinda has two children and three grandchildren who she loves very much. She also has a 27 year old Cockatoo named Coco and what she calls her “psycho cat” Colo.

Lucinda’s favorite part of living in Columbus is having been here her whole life. She cannot imagine living elsewhere and truly views it as her home. She has been able to visit many fun and interesting areas of the city, including COSI, which is one of her favorite places. When the museum first opened she was able to go with her daycare and she remembers them having an “invisible woman” exhibit that was a bit silly but still very exciting. Lucinda has seen her city change in both positive and negative ways. The neighborhood she grew up in has changed a lot since she was a child. She says that it was always a lower income area, but that back then it was safe and had a sense of community, whereas now it seems to have lost the connectedness of her youth. Lucinda has lived in Harrison West for about 5 years. When she moved into subsidized housing she was nervous it would be unsafe, but was pleasantly surprised by how great it was. She  appreciates the efforts that the city is making to improve neighborhood safety as well as the way that the Harrison West Society brings the community together.

A typical day for Lucinda usually involves relaxing and sleeping if she doesn’t have plans. Being a part of At Home By High has gotten Lucinda out of the house and out of her boring, sleepy routine. Because of At Home By High, this Columbus native has seen more local  points of interest and explored more places than she ever had the opportunity to do before. She has been exposed to different foods, venues and restaurants through the events and activities that At Home By High offers each month. She has even checked off a few bucket list items in just this past year like learning how to fly fish and visit Ohio Stadium - O - H - I - O !!!

When asked what her advice to those who are younger than her would be, she said for them to be true to themselves and not people-please. She says that it took her a long time to learn that lesson and that she wants others to learn that sooner. We love Lucinda so much and are so grateful to have her as a member of our organization. She is a fun, spunky, and kind woman who cares for us all in such special ways. 

P.S., if you see her with her other half Wanda, be sure to refer to them as Laverne and Shirley. They deeply identify with those characters and have been caught acting out the intro to the show on more than one occasion.