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| Another photo of Laddie, taken about 1998, submitted by reader Karen Leach. (The white spots are in the original.) |
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Though camera shy, I did find this one great photo of Laddie from 2014. |
Names of mayors and Clerk Laddie succeeded corrected. Longtime City Clerk Laddie Wyatt passed away the night of Saturday, January 18, 2020. Thanks to former Council President Liz Urquhart and City Clerk Jalloh for passing the word.
Laddie was legendary by the time I arrived at City Hall in 1998, moving over from the Plainfield Public Library.
As I understood it, she had been Schools Superintendent Everett Lattimore's private secretary in the school district, and came with him to City Hall when he became mayor in 1982.
When Lattimore left in 1984, after the courts had rule that he could not be both mayor and schools superintendent (he went back to the school district), Laddie stayed on at City Hall.
By 1987, she had become City Clerk (after the retirement, of Emilia Stahura -- thanks Bernice!).
By the time I had the privilege of knowing and working with her, she had already stared down an attempt to remove her from office. She was victorious in defending her position and never let anyone afterwards forget it.
Laddie served as City Clerk under five mayors: Rick Taylor, Harold Mitchell, Mark Fury, Al McWilliams, and Sharon Robinson-Briggs.
Everything in City Hall seemed to pass through the Clerk's office in one way or another and Laddie definitely was at the center of the web.
Laddie was a larger-than-life personality, loved politics and political gossip and could be something of a ham (especially at Council meetings, where she often projected a dramatic persona).
Laddie was not an easy person to work for -- she did not take fools kindly -- and many city workers who developed successful careers in other departments got their (rocky) starts in Laddie Wyatt's office.
I had come to City Hall at the outset of the administration of Mayor Al McWilliams as the city's public information officer. Laddie made it clear to me from the first moment that she was camera averse and I was to take no pictures of her. Period.
We hit it off, though, and I spent hours in her cozy little office as she regaled me with the latest adventures (political and otherwise) of Plainfield's elected officials and town notables. Once, I was 86'ed from her office by Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs as we were in the middle of a tête a tête. (The story is funny and you can read it here.)
Though she was not really a technophobe, it would be fair to say that her romance with technology ended with the IBM Selectric (if you remember that, you are dating yourself). She grudgingly admitted a place for computers in the office, but swore by paper records (an attitude shared by the state for way too long).
Laddie was also a plainspoken -- and often salty -- raconteur, which I found thoroughly enjoyable.
The intrigues and picayune affairs of local politicians came in for her hilarious riffs.
Once in particular, I remember her going on about a high elected official (no names), when she suddenly burst out with "I think I'll just put on my strap-on and teach [them] a lesson." I laughed till the tears ran.
Laddie was a one of a kind person, a force of nature, and as City Clerk she successfully shepherded Plainfield from the paper to the digital age.
It is sad to say that for such a notable person, I could find no obituary -- neither Ledger nor Courier or even on the funeral home's website.
Laddie's viewing is Tuesday, January 28, from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM. The funeral is Wednesday, January 29 at 11:00 AM. Both are at Rose of Sharon Community Church, 825 West 7th Street, Plainfield.
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