‘THEN & NOW ay 3 BINS Cie ear Pe ery Margaret Loner Margaret Lopez Margaret’s Morgantown has changed drastically over the many years she’s called it home, but one thing wil] never change—the effect she’s had on the community. NO MATTER WHERE SHE GOES IN MORGANTOWN; Margaret Lopez sess her students. They greet her—sometimes in Italian—when she has breakfast with friends at Panera. They send letters and photos to her South Park home. Years after meeting, Margaret as atyping inseructos, Italian teacher, or advisor, they reach out to her with stories of sucosss and gratitude ‘When Margaret retired from WVU in 2011, she had worked therefor 59 years and was is longest-serving employee. Her first jab atthe university was as a secretary in the registrar's office, where she woukl meet her husband Russell Lopez, a W'VU football player: After marrying and raising three children, Margaret started taking classes atthe age of 42, got her undergraduate degree in accounting, and went on to reosive a master’s in English. She then worked as an advisor in the College of Human Resources & Education for more than 40 years. Margaret was also an instructor atthe Monongalia, County Technical Bducation Center, where she taught more than 16,000 students how to type. ‘With such a long history of involvement in the Morgantown sarin and photgr houkl come as no surprise that just about everyone hhas a story about Margaret. The best stories, though, are the cones Margaret tells herself. She still remembers the exact day— November 23, 1929—she landed on Ellis Island with her sister and mother after along journey from Calabria, Italy. She remembers translating letters for other Italian immigrants because, unlike “Margaret, most had never earned to read or write. She remembers hhiding books from her mother, who thought Margaret would “rin Jer eyes.” She even remembers her friend Don Knotts performing his ventriloquist act at Morgantown High Schoof’s weekly talent show when they were both students there. ‘At 91, Margarets as sharp as ever. She still delights friends with her stories of the past and continues to teach Italian. Despite losing two of her children to cancer, she says, “God was really ‘good to me.” Maybe it’s because Margaret has been so good 1 Morgantown, Then & Now isin partnership with WVU Libraries’ West Virginia & Regional History Center. werhe.libarvu.edu 180 waeoantoe arya