Twelve years ago this week, I wrote a tribute to Annabel Luebbe. At that time, she was 87 years old and I would often see her around town. She would be riding her bicycle, shoveling snow at her Worthington Drive home or walking through Bridgeport. She always had a plastic grocery bag or two and she would pick up any trash she came across. One day as I was driving by, I stopped and rolled down the window to   chat with her. She asked if I happened to have an empty plastic bag. I handed her one through the window and she handed back two filled bags.

 

Annabel has been gone now for seven years. But I think about her often while I’m walking. A few times – but not nearly as often as I should – I’ve taken along some plastic bags and picked up discarded fast food cups, glass bottles, paper wrappers, etc.

 

There are certain spots in our Bridgeport neighborhoods that always seemed to be scattered with trash. But since April of 2021 when Mayor Andy Lang created a beatification crew, the streets are indeed cleaner. I think that is a source of community pride for all residents; for our city to look cared for.

 

It would be ideal if everyone just carried their own plastic bags for their own trash. But for some reason, the streets do get littered.

 

April 2025 has been designated Litter Awareness Month in the City of Bridgeport. City officials challenge residents to join forces with the beautification crew to keep the streets litter free. I challenge you to take on the spirit of Annabel and utilize her passion. She never complained about the litter or the people who created it. She just took it upon herself to be someone who would make our community better by picking up one piece of trash at a time.

 

Read the original blog about Annabel Luebbe below. It was written on March 17, 2013. Annabel passed away Jan. 7, 2018, at the age of 91.

 

Eighty-seven years young, Annabel Luebbe is fit as a fiddle and active from daylight to dawn.

 

Besides taking care of her own house and garden, she can be found on foot throughout the city with an ongoing mission in mind.

 

“I don’t like to look at the trash everywhere, so I just pick it up,” said a smiling, matter-of-fact Luebbe.

She does so out of the goodness of her heart, with no ill feelings for those who make the mess.

“I have always walked. It’s a natural thing to do,” she said. “So, I just carry a bag with me. It’s no trouble at all.”

Having a positive outlook on life and its opportunities is an important, proactive element for happiness, according to the lifelong Bridgeport resident.

She was born in 1926, right in a house which remains on upper Center Street. Her family name then was Stout and she, her parents and siblings lived in the home until they relocated to a 150-acre farm near the present Maplewood Retirement Facility. The farm had belonged to her grandfather and when he passed, she and her family took over.

It was a happy childhood, helping tend to the horses, cows, sheep and hogs, then running off to nearby Maple Lake for an afternoon swim, Luebbe said.

The love of her life was Robert Luebbe, to whom she married. They had a son, Robert “Robby” Luebbe Jr., and a daughter, Barbara.

Bridgeport was the perfect backdrop for raising their family.

“It’s just a nice town to live in. The schools were good for the kids when they were growing up and the churches are nice,” Luebbe said. “Everything is.”

A former secretary for the hospital intensive care unit, Luebbe is a longtime member of the GFWC Woman’s Club of Bridgeport. She was instrumental in starting the GFWC Juniorettes. She is also a longtime member of Bridgeport United Methodist Church, where she used to be active in teaching Sunday School, among other church duties.

Her husband is deceased and her children and their families live out-of-state; Barbara in Florida and Robby in California. They visit occasionally. She doesn’t visit them because she doesn’t fly. But there are so many things which she does.

 

In the wintertime, she shovels the snow which accumulates on her driveway and sidewalks. In the spring and summertime, she gardens and cuts her own grass. Why would she pay someone to do something which not only brings her satisfaction, but also gives her an exercise opportunity?

That is signature Annabel Luebbe.

Until very recently, Luebbe could also be found riding her old-school bicycle through the streets of Bridgeport, but she was given a sign that it was time to stop.

“I got up one spring morning and decided to get the bike out of the garage,” she said. “But when I got on it, I couldn’t reach the pedals.”

If you pay close attention to life, instruction and opportunity make themselves seen.

That, also, is signature Annabel Luebbe.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured top/cover is Annabel Luebbe. Also pictured are the original members of the city's beautification crew, Dave Paugh and Steve Cain with Mayor Andy Lang.