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 A founder and great supporter of many village activities and
organizations, Lucia Hermanies’ life was inextricably interwoven with
Mariemont. This remarkable
woman decided that Mariemont was the place she wanted to raise her family,
after being introduced to the Village by her friend Ann Becker on a trip
back to her home town of Cincinnati from California.
In her 52 years as a Mariemont resident, this strong woman saw many
of her ideas on making Mariemont an exemplary community, become reality.
Mrs.
Hermanies was well known for the active and often controversial role she
played in the schools. She
was instrumental in Mariemont having its own High School, rather that
seeing her children 1936 to 1943, Luia Hermanies tackled the issues of
nurses in the schools, continuing contracts and tenure of teachers.
She worked zealously to remove the Ohio law which prohibited
married women from working as teachers.
Mrs. Hermanies was very active in the Dale Park PTA and believed
that “from the very beginning the mother’s contribution” made the
difference in Mariemont.
During WWII,
Mrs. Hermanies was one of the sponsors of the community Victory Garden
which with $5 worth of seeds, on 2 acres, raised enough vegetables for a
record setting number of 10,000 cans of food.
Mrs. Hermanies was also active in the fist lending library in
Mariemont, helping establish the Recreation Center in 1930 and started a
day care center in Fairfax for working women in 1943.
Lucia
Eckstein Hermanies was a champion of women and a strong example of what
women could accomplish. After
her husband died in 1939, Lucia became a realtor and opened her own
office; remaining active in the community.
In an interview in The Town Crier shortly before her death in 1978,
Mrs. Hermainies spoke of her early achievements. “There were so many
important things started, and I think by women.
This is the reason I love this town so much.
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