Helen Woods
So my mother was happy to see all of us because all of us, her children, at one time or another owned their own homes.? We all owned our own homes.? Every last one of us.
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Helen Woods was born in Maryland and came to Chester when she was eight years old. Her mother worked as a domestic worker, and her father worked at Bloomingdale Rubber Company. Growing up in a family of eleven children, she grew up in a house that was always open to neighbors and friends. While attending Chester High School, she witnessed the integration of movie theatres, local stores, and schools in Chester. She worked at Constanza’s hoagie shop, the Pennsylvania and B & O Railroad, and at Swarthmore College. She currently serves Chester senior residents as the president of the Resident Council at Matopos Hills Senior Apartments. As a life-long Chester resident, she often talks about the importance of building strong communities and of being her “brother’s keeper.”
Interviewed by Cecilia Marquez in March, 2009