Margaret's Letter

Margaret Stanton is a retired social worker and AFSCME member who lives in Front Royal, Virginia. After receiving a mail piece from the Virginia AFL-CIO explaining that Barack Obama and Mark Warner were our endorsed candidates, she decided to write a letter.

In her letter, Margaret, who is 93, explained that she read both of Senator Obama’s books and her daughter in Connecticut is working on Obama’s campaign.

Margaret believes that the current policies in Washington are “killing the middle class” and she hopes and prays that Barack Obama becomes president.

Inspired by the response, Doris Mays tracked down Margaret and discovered she has a remarkable life story…

Margaret came to America from Holland when she was in her 20s. She was working with a Dutch resistance group who hid Jews from the Nazis. It is estimated that her group saved the lives of 15,000 people. The Nazis eventually discovered what she was doing and were planning on killing her. Margaret escaped to Genoa, Italy and then took a ship bound for the United States.

Margaret went to Chicago and received a degree in Social Work from the University of Chicago. She was a social worker for Montgomery County, Maryland and, for many years, was involved in the civil rights movement.

Margaret and her boyfriend, Palmer, voted last week for Barack Obama. When asked why she voted for Senator Obama, Margaret explained, “I admire him. I think he’s honest. He works for the people. He’s blessed and I believe in him.”

As Doris notes, “you never know how much a mail piece that we send or a phone call means to people.” This mail piece meant enough to Margaret for her to write a letter and send a check to the Obama campaign.

Margaret keeps the mail piece at her table along with The Audacity of Hope and Dreams from my Father and made sure to remind Doris (a few times) during the visit that she would like a framed copy of the Barack Obama and Mark Warner flyer.