87-year-old says she's ready for next year's big storms

The Associated Press

STELLA, Mo. -- She survived 11 days and nights without heat or electricity after an ice storm that broke nearly every tree in her yard, but 87-year-old Margaret Rutledge is still upbeat.

"All this wood in the yard now will be good aged wood for next year," Rutledge said at the southwest Missouri house she named "Heaven Sent" when she first saw it in 2005.

Stella, a small southwest Missouri town about 20 miles from the Oklahoma border, was plunged into darkness by the ice storm Jan. 12. Power was restored Tuesday night.

Although determined to stay in her home, Rutledge did not want to freeze to death in her bed.

"Let me be having fun when I die," she said.

She piled on several layers of clothing and kept warm by burning green wood in her fireplace, using a hacksaw to cut small limbs from the trees in her yard.

"After the snow started to melt, I found dead branches to burn," Rutledge said. "I didn't have any paper, so I used a telephone book to start the fire until I used that all up.

"You have to fend for yourself," she added. "You can't wait around for someone to help you."

The temperature in her home hovered around 38 to 40 degrees at night. It was even colder in her bedroom, Rutledge said, but she slept well.

Although the town had water, it was too cold indoors to take a shower. So, she kept her hat on and laughed about "looking horrible."

Friends and neighbors urged Rutledge to go to a warm shelter, but she refused.

"I think I'm more comfortable at home, knowing what's happening," Rutledge said. "I'll be ready for next year."

The daughter of Austrian immigrants, Rutledge grew up with five sisters and a brother in Carter Lake, Iowa. She lived in San Francisco from 1947 to 1985, helping restore old houses and, after passing the civil service exam at age 58, working in an office.

"I was cold all the while I lived in San Francisco," Rutledge said. "People would say it was so good to see a woman wearing a hat and gloves, but I only did that because I was freezing to death."

She moved in 1985 to Bella Vista, Ark., where her sister lived. While there, she learned to tap dance with a group at age 65.

"It's something I always wanted to do," she said. "And we were really good."

After a couple of break-ins in Bella Vista, Rutledge said she began to look for a safer place to live.

She knew the moment she saw the Stella house in June 2005 that it was perfect.

"I couldn't have asked for anything more," Rutledge said. "I am so happy here. I absolutely love it here."

Rutledge also is an accomplished bowler, golfer and sailor. She makes all of her own clothes and was disappointed during the power outage that she could not stitch two pieces of fabric together.

"My hands were so cold, I couldn't even baste anything," Rutledge said. "And it gets dark so early."