The Write Stuff
Alice (Lazarus) Haber was destined to be a teacher, but she has found a second act in life as a writer.
After earning her bachelor’s degree from TU in education, Haber embarked on a long and fulfilling career as a teacher. Haber, 90, hasn’t slowed down. She has written four books and is pondering a fifth, and she has a semi-regular column with the Frederick News-Post.
I used to write letters to the editor, but [the editor] told me I write too many, so he put me on the board of communicators. I get an article in every six weeks.
Alice Haber
Haber’s books cover a range of subjects, from collections of essays and letters to the editor she’s written over the years—the latter called “I Never Get a Whole Loaf”—to her latest effort, “The Souls of Pets,” which features stories and anecdotes of individuals’ pets, told from the animals’ perspective.
“I used to write letters to the editor, but [the editor] told me I write too many, so he put me on the board of communicators. I get an article in every six weeks,” she says with a chuckle.
Growing up in the Forest Park neighborhood of Baltimore City, Haber had a blackboard in the basement of her home where she would play teacher. “I always enjoyed teaching. I think it was in my blood,” she says. “I just took it for granted that that’s what I would do.”
Her first job was at Fallstaff Elementary School, teaching fourth grade. “Of all the jobs I have had in my adult life, and there are many, the four years I spent at Fallstaff were the best,” she recalls. “I had a wonderful fourth grade class every year, more than 40 children. I had a wonderful principal, and the woman who was the head of elementary education knew me since I was a fourth-grade student.”
I always enjoyed teaching. I think it was in my blood.
Alice Haber
After she married Sheldon Haber, a professor, in 1955, she stopped teaching and raised two boys while earning a master’s degree in education. When they started school, Haber returned to work, first as a Head Start teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland, then as a government contractor. She traveled all over the country—including Alaska—as an outreach specialist to teach health care workers about the available federal materials and protocols in their areas.
Writing has always been another passion.
In addition to her newspaper duties, she also writes for The Chatter, the newsletter for her independent living community where she resides with her cat Honey. After nine decades, she has a reflective view on her daily life.
“I cook. I drive only in my zip code. And that's it,” says Haber, who has six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. “I appreciate each day. And I thank God that I'm able to do what I do.”
Tags: Alumni, People