Mary Lou Uttermohlen

Mary Lou Uttermohlen

October 7, 1993 - October 30, 1993

“When I’m dead and gone people are going to ask: Who was Elnora Simms? Does anyone really care?” That’s a question Elnora often asked herself. “I’m a nobody,” she stated regularly.

I met Elnora in 1985 when I moved to Columbus, Ohio. I soon found myself involved doing photography for the arthritis foundation and during the project I had made a new friend, Elnora Simms. Consequently, I photographed Elnora for over two years and sometimes we just talked about our lives.

When Elnora spoke she told the same stories over and over again like a broken record, always using the same words. She often tape recorded her conversations with her visitors so that she could continue enjoying their company when they were gone. I chose the quotes on the photographs from transcripts of our old taped discussions.

It is my hope that these photographs will preserve the memory of a woman that few people had the privilege of knowing. Elnora wanted to help others and helping others was her reason for living.