MS. HELGA SMITH

AN EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN

Spry and sassy at 97, Helga Smith, longtime Central Tower resident, is known for claiming after so many years, she owns a portion of the building! 

Helga moved to Saint John’s in 2004 though her involvement began decades earlier as a volunteer at Cass Street where she assisted with the move to the Prospect Avenue campus. Here, on Tuesdays, she organized trips for residents on her day off from her regular gig as a travel agent. Helga’s efforts took busloads of residents to popular Midwest destinations. Three times per year, journeys to far-flung locales inspired the adventurous. Helga recalls nine trips to Europe, five to the Caribbean and one each to Bermuda and Quebec City plus two Alaskan cruises. She tells the story of returning to the bus after lunch in Heidelberg only to find a resident left behind because she was in the bus restroom when it parked! Residents further advantaged Helga’s expertise to organize their own private vacations.

Following retirement, Helga pursued a new path – shopping for the Corner Store, the modest grocery and convenience store which opened on the lower level of the Prospect Avenue Tower in the mid ‘90’s. Recognizing the store was vital for residents who no longer drove, Helga shopped three times per week bringing in a fistful of receipts for reimbursement each Friday. She proudly told stories of how her avid coupon clipping resulted in bargain buys while laughing at the dismay of the beleaguered clerks subjected to her frugal ways. 

When schlepping groceries became burdensome, Helga added Winkies to her weekly route refocusing her prowess on greeting cards, stocking the rack with year-around necessities as well as seasonal messages. 

Helga hung up her shopping cart when she stopped driving a few years ago.

She is truly an extraordinary woman.