February 07, 2004
Granny D in Tampa
Granny D is in Tampa registering new voters. Come meet Granny D at this Monday's Pants on Fire-mobile Rally!
The morning was still young Friday when Doris Haddock pulled her little red wagon in front of the Tampa General Hospital Family Care Center on Kennedy Boulevard. The 94-year-old great-grandmother from Dublin, N.H., was on a mission: Find women and register them to vote.Posted by Norwood at February 7, 2004 09:46 AM"There are 64-million working women in the United States," Haddock said as she walked up to the family care center door, her gray curls peeking out from a tattered straw hat, her shoulders stooped from arthritis. "Only half of them vote."
Haddock, also known as "Granny D," has brought her campaign to get working women to vote to Tampa Bay. Her 36-state walking and driving trek started last in Boston.
She arrived in Tampa on Thursday. One of her stops that day was the Mons Venus nude club.
"They're nice girls," Haddock said of the dancers. "They work all night."
Wearing a navy Mons Venus T-shirt Friday, Haddock stopped at businesses along Kennedy Boulevard. At the Tampa General family center, Haddock waited patiently with Ohio volunteer Kathleen Boston for the manager after being told by a clerk that no solicitation was allowed.
"It's not solicitation," Haddock asserted softly, her 5-foot frame barely clearing the front counter. "It's registering people to vote."
Manager Barbara Otto told Haddock she could leave a dozen registration forms, but because of patient confidentiality, she could not stay.
"Voting is the only voice we have," Haddock told her.
