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Always showing up

by SJ Alice Bennett
During one of the few quiet moments she has, Rebecca Cartmell flipped through old magazines and newspapers in her sitting room — discovering stories about her family’s legacy in Maysville.

On any given day, Rebecca Cartmell can’t make it far down Maysville’s Third Street without being stopped for a chat. It’s not the kind of polite nod between strangers in a small town — it’s genuine familiarity. She knows the shopkeepers, neighbors and their pets, as well as the people who built this place because her family has helped shape it.

The Cartmells have been part of Mason County since the late 1700s, and civic leadership seems to run in their blood. Her grandmother was Maysville’s and Kentucky’s first female mayor, her mother followed in her footsteps and, eventually, her brother, David, did as well. Friends joke that he stole what should have been Rebecca’s birthright, but she laughs it off — she’s found her own ways to carry the family legacy forward.

Caroline Reese, the director of the Main Street program, appreciates how much Rebecca does for the town. “You know, we’re just lucky to have people like that. Always giving, always ready to lend a hand,” Caroline said. “I’m sure — God forbid — the flood ever came over that wall, she’d be the first person there with the sandbags.”

Rebecca keeps busy. She’s one of those people who can’t bring herself to say no, and she doesn’t want to. She’s found joy in supporting her community because she genuinely cares about its people and animals. She serves as board chair of Comprehend Inc., Mason County’s regional mental health center, and as executive director of Community Care of Mason County, which operates a food pantry every Thursday and helps support local families facing hardship. She’s also president of the Humane Society of Buffalo Trace, volunteers as the Red Cross community town leader and sits on the executive board of the local Democratic Party, among other things.

With so many roles, she rarely sits still and is constantly on the phone solving problems for the community. People going through hardship ask for help with rent and utility bills, housing, finding out when Thanksgiving food bags will be distributed, and guidance on a wide range of other everyday challenges. She drives from meeting to meeting, squeezing in a quick stop to pick up 12 cases of caramel apples donated by a local supermarket, and taking any opportunity out of the car to write vouchers for utilities or the humane society. Yet through it all she never seems stressed.

She said a vibrant community depends on people who act and care. “I’m not bragging,” Rebecca said, “but I’m just going to tell you something that’s different about me — and I know this from being on other boards and stuff — but I show up.”

It’s the same spirit that’s defined her family for generations, and one she continues to keep alive in her own way — unassuming, tireless, always with a steady hand and a smile. Why does she do it all? Rebecca has a simple answer: “If you want good things to happen, you have to be willing to do them.”

When Rebecca was about 10 years old, the local newspaper photographed her in a dress from the trousseau of the woman who owned the Public Ledger for the newspaper’s 100th anniversary. Since they couldn’t find an adult woman who could fit into the dress, Rebecca was chosen. Pictures of her father as a small child (left), her great-grandfather (bottom left) and her daughter (right) surround hers.
In 1988 People magazine published an article about Rebecca’s mother, Harriett Hord Cartmell, when she was mayor of Maysville. “They arrested a woman here, just an average woman who had a pot plant growing in her kitchen window. And they put her in jail. And my mother came out saying, ‘That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.'”
Rebecca helps Bethany Fields (right) fill out forms to get help with her utility bills. She had suggested Bethany come to the food pantry run by Community Care of Mason County so she could help her with the paperwork and she could pick up some groceries while she was there.
While at the food pantry, Rebecca prepared a vegan chili for the free chili supper held once a year by the local Democratic Party. Influenced by her daughter, Ellen Cartmell, she has followed a vegetarian diet for the past 11 years.
Christy Clarke (from left), Debbe Gardner, Rebecca, and Marg Denham serve a variety of homemade chili at the local Democratic Party’s free chili dinner. They are all members of the Tri-County Democratic Women’s Club.
Rebecca unloaded caramel apples donated to the food pantry by a local supermarket. She appreciates these regular donations — and so did the kids who came with their parents that day, pleased by the unexpected sweet treat.
Rotary badges that members of the club wear at meetings are stored on shelves in the Maysville Rotary Clubhouse. Rebecca and her husband have been members for four years.
While listening to speeches at the chili supper, Rebecca looked at a flyer for the local Democratic Party. She lives by these words.
On a typical day, Rebecca answers many phone calls for help and support. Recently, there had been growing concern over the potential lack of SNAP vouchers due to the government shutdown, so she expected an increased need for food assistance. Her sitting room remains much like her mother left it, stacked with books and family mementoes.