2021 Honoree
Charlotte Zietlow
Born in 1934 in Milwaukee, Charlotte’s path to politics wasn’t direct; her Minnesota high school didn't even teach history, she said.
It was in high school she met her husband, Paul. They didn’t date before they went to separate colleges, but the pair stayed in touch. Eventually, Paul asked Charlotte to visit him at Yale.
“I knew, and he knew, that we would be married and live happily ever after, just like that,” Charlotte said.
They were married 58 years until Paul’s death in 2015. Rebecca said Charlotte considered marrying Paul her greatest accomplishment.
They moved to Bloomington in 1964 when Paul was hired as an English professor at Indiana University. Charlotte, Paul and their children, Rebecca and Nathan, then lived in Czechoslovakia for about a year while Paul taught at a university there.
Charlotte saw the Czechoslovakian government restrict free speech and dissent. When she returned to Bloomington, she saw a city council openly ignoring the public at meetings. With those experiences in mind, she ran for Bloomington City Council in 1971. Charlotte and a cohort of other Democrats won, flipping Bloomington government from a red majority to a blue one. She was the first woman to become City Council president.
Zietlow was the first woman elected to the Bloomington City Council in 1971 and served as the council president the following year. For decades, she has championed local activism and progressive causes. She was instrumental in the restoration of the Monroe County Courthouse, fought to keep Lake Monroe as our primary source of drinking water and opposed a proposal for a PCB incinerator, among many other civic accomplishments.
About Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County
Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County (www.monroecountyhabitat.org) aims to eliminate poverty housing by building decent, affordable homes in partnership with qualifying families.
Monroe County is among the least affordable places to live in Indiana. More than one in five people in Monroe County live in poverty. A citizen earning minimum wage must work 93 hours per week every week of the year to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
To qualify for the Habitat program, applicants must demonstrate the need for housing, the ability to pay, and the willingness to partner. Before closing on their house, each adult member living in a Habitat home must put in 250 hours of volunteering, called “sweat equity.”
Through volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat is able to sell to future homeowners and finance the purchases with affordable loans. As our partner families pay back their affordable mortgage, Habitat is able to offer even more families an opportunity for home ownership.