Granny D, A 96-Year old Political Activist, to Give a Talk at University of Portland March 10th

Granny D is known for her memoir, "You're Never Too Old to Raise a Little Hell" If you miss the Portland event, check out her Web site at http://www.grannyd.com/

Image Courtesy: GrannyD.com

(Portland) - Doris Granny D Haddock will speak to students at 10:00 AM Friday, March 10th in Mago Hunt Theater on campus, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. Her talk is free and open to the public. Her visit is sponsored by the University's ecology club.

Born in 1910 in Laconia, New Hampshire, Doris Granny D. Haddock attended Emerson College for three years before marrying James Haddock. She was awarded an honorary degree from the college in 2000. Haddock worked and raised her family during the Great Depression, and later worked in a shoe factory in Manchester for 20 years.

With her husband, she helped stop the planned use of hydrogen bombs in Alaska in 1960, saving an Inuit fishing village at Point Hope. The couple retired to Dublin, NH in 1972, where she served on the Planning Board and was active in community affairs. She nursed her husband through 10 years of Alzheimer's disease.

In January 1999, at the age of 89, she began a walk across the country to demonstrate her concern for campaign reform, walking 10 miles each day for 14 months and making speeches along the way.

She walked more than 1,000 miles through deserts and climbed the Appalachian range in blizzard conditions. She skied the last 100 miles into Washington, D.C. when a historic snowfall made roadside walking impossible.

When she arrived in Washington, D.C., Granny D was met by 2,200 people, representing a wide variety of reform groups. Several dozen members of Congress walked the final miles with her.

In 2003 and 2004, she embarked on a 23,000 mile tour of the "swing states," encouraging women and the residents of poor neighborhoods to register to vote.

She walked through housing projects considered too dangerous to visit by many, and registering voters all along her way.

When no Democrat would run against popular U.S. Senator Judd Gregg in her home state of New Hampshire, at the age of 94, she announced her candidacy for the seat. Even though she was the official Democratic Party nominee for that seat, she refused all special interest PAC contributions, walking the neighborhoods of the state to talk to people directly.

Her memoir is entitled, Granny D: You're Never Too Old to Raise a Little Hell.