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Ela Hathaway, a former president of the Eastchester Women’s Club, chair of the Beaux Arts and Creative Writing competition and member of the Eastchester Beautification Committee, has been named as the “Woman of the Year” by the Westchester County Federation of Women’s Clubs (WCFWC) for more than five decades of community service in the lower Hudson Valley.
A former White House correspondent, fashion coordinator and realtor in Scarsdale, Hathaway has served more than 50 years with the WCFWC, the Eastchester and Scarsdale Women’s Clubs.
Hathaway, who will celebrate her 100th birthday next year, was celebrated by the WCFWC at an awards luncheon this week, where she shared stories from her time in Washington, D.C.
“In my 20s, I transferred to Washington with the Office of War Information. I became reporter for Yankee Network and the Washington Times Herald. I covered Congress and the White House and met both Eleanor Roosevelt and Bess Truman,” she mused.
“Elanor was very friendly and always helpful with pictures and a word for my stories. She was not very interested in fashion and an embarrassing moment came when I mentioned to another reporter that I wished Eleanor would do something with her hair. Suddenly, I heard Eleanor’s voice asking ‘Exactly what do you think I should do with it, Ela?’ She took it in stride and with a sense of humor; truly a most gracious woman.”
Previous honorees of the WCFWC’s “Woman of the Year” award include Shirley Temple Black, Fannie Hurst and Gloria Vanderbilt. Hathaway, who is still an active member of the Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe, will be honored again in June alongside Fay Blasi and Josephine Madonna as Senior Rosarians of the Rosary Society at the church.
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