A Community Volunteer Who Wears Many Hats

It is no surprise that Eleanor “Ellie” Mayer Anderson is spending the morning of June 14–Flag Day–participating in a blood drive and donating her rare AB+ blood type. As the “American Flag Fairy” who “plants” about 300 American flags on the streets of Ridgewood a couple of days before the Fourth of July celebration as well as the Memorial Day Run, patriotism and community service runs deep through her veins. 

Since the mid-1990s Anderson–on her own initiative and inspired by giving back to her beloved Ridgewood–has lined the route leading up to Veterans Field as well as North Pleasant Avenue with 12” x 18” American flags. She does this task solo, starting at about 8:00 a.m. and, after a break for lunch, places the last flag in the ground about mid-afternoon. Then she treats herself to a 10-minute back rub at her favorite salon across the street from Whole Foods at the end of the day. 

But she never re-collects the flags–no, they are plucked up by children and families going to the events and by residents of the streets on which they are placed. One year, when she ran short, someone called up to complain that the block had been left out. “I made sure not to run short ever again,” she said.

This act of generosity doesn’t describe the sum total of Anderson's contribution to the community–it is an introduction to a list long list of activities accumulated during her forty years in Ridgewood.  Anderson undertook all the usual volunteering roles of a parent while her son, Doug, was in the public school system, but she didn’t stop there. 

The volunteer extended her impact to theater (doing make-up for the New Players Theater Group for almost two decades), dance (creating choreography for Jamboree Jam for years), fund-raising, food drives, and anything else that is needed (planting flowers for Habitat for Humanity, putting together bags with goodies for Shelter Our Sisters), breaking golfing records and accomplishing all of it with grace and panache while working and raising her son.

“One of my biggest make-up challenges was doing the nose for Cyrano de Bergerac,” she recalled. “I had to build a structure that wouldn’t wobble or break, stay on and look natural. In the end it was all great fun.” 

Some of the high school students Ellie worked with went on to professional careers in the theater and have taken their cue from her, coming back to the village donate their services. For example, Lauri Sales, who is now a professional writer and director, came back to direct shows at the New Players.

Anderson is quick to point out the generosity of others while maintaining modesty about her own deeds. 

“One of my most memorable fund-raising events was Hope for Haley held about a year ago at Savvy Chic,” she says. “Randi Morein had just opened her store a short while before but she donated a percentage of her proceeds that day to this very important campaign to help a young member of the community in her battle against cancer.”

Anderson arrived in Ridgewood by coincidence. She and her husband were visiting friends in Ramsey, but took a different exit off the highway to get there. As soon as Anderson saw the town she knew this is where she wanted to live and raise a family, she says.

Her son was born at Valley Hospital and it was at the time he was about eight or nine years old that Ellie decided to go back to school to become a real estate broker. 

She serves on the Community Service Committee for Caldwell Banker but also continues to find outlets for giving through work.

“After I have an open house and take the left over-food and bring it to the senior citizens at SHARE, Inc.” Anderson notes. “When they see me with the food they say, ‘Oh Ellie is here, now we can have a party.’”

During her years in real estate Anderson has certainly met some interesting people and wouldn't you know, she has some stories to tell.

“One man was the Lighting Director for CBS who was also responsible for lighting the Statue of Liberty for the Bicentennial,” she recalls. “He insisted on finding a house with a root cellar.” Later, the Harrison Ford film, Presumed Innocent, was filmed in the house and the murder weapon was found in that root cellar. 

But despite all that, she never let work get in the way of her commitment to giving back to the community at every opportunity. 

In fact, her role model for community service was her mother. “My mother was very involved with politics,” she remembered. “Although that is not my interest, I do recall people were calling her up all the time with requests and problems to solve…and she did so with great style. She never left the house without wearing a hat and gloves.” 

For a while, Anderson wore hats as well–but really, she is really known as the “Lady of Many Hats” because of her various community service interests. Although it is hard to believe, she feels there is one activity she regrets not having done yet.

She would love to help place the flowers in the large buckets that line the village’s sidewalks.

“I just wish I could do more for everyone,” Anderson said.           

(For those realtors who are interested, the blood drive is taking place at RealSource, the Association of Realtors of North Bergen County, where a community blood bank truck will receive donors.)