Glennie Edwards

by Lynne Ober

Glennie Edwards was born in Pelham, New Hampshire and, with the exception of five years during World War II, has remained in Pelham. "It’s a great town. I love my home and my garden," she beamed. "Except for that small wedge in my life, I’ve always lived here."

Glennie was ten years old when her father died. She was sent to live with an aunt and uncle in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and remained there for five years.

"It was during the war. Both my aunt and uncle had three jobs and a two-year old. I never saw them. They were gone when I got up in the morning and didn’t return until after I’d gone to bed. I had a lot of responsibility put on my shoulders because I had to get the two-year old up, dressed, fed and then taken to the babysitter’s before I walked to school. Then in the afternoon, I picked him up on my way home. I was responsible for dinner. It was a hard life."

During her fifth year with her aunt and uncle, Glennie decided that enough was enough and ran away. "It was the first time I’d ever been in a cab. I called one to take me to the bus station. I had taken what I could carry with me. From there I called my mom and asked her to come get me. It was April and I was in school." In the end Glennie went back to stay with her aunt and uncle until school was out and then moved back home with her mom.

Perhaps it was those five years spent in Portsmouth or genes she inherited from her parents, but Glennie Edwards is a can do person. She’s not afraid to try anything and, in fact, may have already tried it. She held many jobs until she married and became a mom.

"I’ve done just about everything," she laughed. "I used to race cars." In 1953 Glennie was the only female race car driver registered with the North Atlantic Auto Racing Association. "I met Bobby Edwards at the garage of Andy Cote. I remember asking Andy who that cute guy was after he left and Andy told me he didn’t date girls. I responded he does now." And obviously he did because he and Glennie were married and she quit racing cars. However, she didn’t lose her love of cars and fondly recalls hours spent in the garage with her husband as they re-built cars.

"I have four good kids, three boys in Pelham and one girl, who lives in Merrimack," she smiled. "I have four wonderful grandkids. The youngest one is seven. He’s my little sweetheart."

Glennie and her mother ran the company that her father had started. "We did interiors. I’ve done many of the interiors in Pelham’s developments. We’d paint and wall paper."

Today Glennie still loves to re-do interior spaces and is working on converting a garage into an office. "I have about four more days of work before I get that project finished."

For years Glennie worked at her home for the Pelham Police Department before actually beginning to work at the police station where she worked through 1986.

Leaving the Pelham Police Department where she worked under three different Police Chiefs, Glennie began working for the state in the State Probation Parole Office. She retired from there in 1997, but retired isn’t a word that’s easily applied to this energetic lady.

Along the way she’s planned and constructed five homes – one in Maine and the rest in Pelham. "I did everything on those houses because I really understand that kind of work," she smiled. Glennie admits to having a great respect for electricity and electrical work.

She drew the plans for the old Police Station. "I had every nook and cranny labeled before changes were made," she laughed. "Then with the changes, not everything went quite as smoothly as I’d hoped."

"If you want something done," said Joyce Mason, "give it to Glennie. Every job is a delight to her. She’s always got a big smile."

Music has always played a great part of her life. For twenty years she played banjo in a band. She sang with Pelham’s Greeley’s singers and she learned how to play the piano. When the Greeley Singers piano needed to be re-done, they called on Glennie, who took it apart, cleaned it, got parts repaired and put it back together. That piano still works today.

Glennie is an avid gardener and belongs to Pelham’s Garden Club.

She’s also a member of Hannah Dustin Quilters. "I love cloth and everything to do with cloth." Glennie has quilted and sewn for years. "I did finally give up rug braiding on Monday mornings because I needed to work on my house," she grinned.

Glennie is also an active member of the Sherburne Hall Committee and has volunteered many hours toward funding the renovations. She volunteered at both Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament Fund Raisers and plans to work on future fund raising projects.

She organized the Town-wide Clean Sweep campaign that cleaned trash from along Pelham’s roads. "We participated in the New Hampshire Beautiful program. Over twenty-five people helped me clean up the roads, including two Selectmen," she recalled. "We zeroed in on the worse areas. It’s very satisfying to do something for someone or for the Town."

Three years ago she started snowmobiling. "It lets me be outside in the winter. I love to be outside."

Glennie talks about how she loves people and to entertain people. "It’s just fun."

"Some day I’d like to write an autobiography," she said. But before she does that – Glennie’s still has many new projects to try.