Residents say Lockridge has heart
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“She’s more than just a landlord,” Cox said. “She’s like a mother to some of us.”
Lockridge feels much the same about her tenants.
“They’re all like family, basically,” she said. “Because you see them every day. They get to be family.”
Beersheba Towers, part of McMinnville Housing Authority, has been open since 1979, and has 100 units with around 110 current residents ranging in age from 22 to 86. The majority are seniors, but there are some younger tenants who qualify for the housing.
“You have to be 62, disabled or handicapped to live here,” Lockridge said.
Rent is based on income, according to Lockridge, which can change if the resident’s income is affected, which is actually part of Lockridge’s job.
“Once a year I re-certify,” Lockridge said, “and if they have gotten a lot more medical bills, their rent will go down. It’ll be adjusted.”
Lockridge came to the job in 1986 after having worked at the check-in desk in the emergency room at River Park for a year or so while she was going to school across the street at Motlow. In addition to her re-certification duties, Lockridge’s daily routine includes collecting rent, handling and issuing work orders to the building’s two maintenance men, as well as processing applications and keeping records. And after 18 years, Lockridge says the job is still interesting and she enjoys coming to work.
“There’s something different every day,” she said. “No two days are the same. It keeps you on your toes.”
Even though Lockridge admits she provides a variety of services for residents, she was surprised when she heard tenants had expressed their appreciation for her work and her attitude.
“It just seems natural,” she said. “It doesn’t really seem like I do that much, but I guess maybe in their eyes I do.”
Lockridge said one thing she does is address resident’s concerns with paperwork.
“Say they get something from Social Security,” she said. “The language it’s written in is very hard to understand. And anything makes them nervous that they get through the mail. So just explaining what it means or telling them don’t worry about this, and they’re like, ‘Oh, thank you.'”
Residents are treated to a variety of activities during the year, according to Lockridge.
“We just had a picnic at the picnic shelter here,” she said, “where the men grilled out. We had a live band up there, of course they volunteer, and we just had a good time, games and everything. Then we have dinners.
At Christmas, the day we’re going to decorate the tree I have them string popcorn, and I have cookies and hot apple cider, and then later on in the day, the tenants will decorate the tree.”
Tenants say Lockridge goes above and beyond the call of duty.
“We think a lot of her,” said 14-year resident Ruth McGee. “She’s a nice lady.”
“I love her myself,” said Mary Helen Blackburn, who has been at Beersheba for 12 years. “She sure has been good to me. I wouldn’t trade her for anybody. She gets along with everybody.”
Lockridge also said she has learned a great deal from residents over the years.
“I wish I’d had a tape recorder and taped a lot of their stories that they’ve told me,” she said.
“A lot of them are gone. Their descriptions of how McMinnville used to be and how the times used to be were very interesting. I just wish I had done that.”