This is the 5th in a series on Martin County Democrats who have made a difference. Be sure to click on each picture to view in expanded mode with commentary. Also, there are links in blue that provide explanation, so be sure to click on those links too. Tip: If you're using your phone, try to find a laptop or desktop. It's so much better to read this on a large screen!
The Amazing Grace Linn
In March 2023 a storm that had been brewing for a year thrust then 100-year-old Grace Linn into the local and national spotlight. The year before, Ron DeSantis had signed the "Parental Rights in Education" bill into law - known by opponents as "Don't Say Gay" - that brought about book banning in our public schools. At that time, the Martin County School Board heeded calls of DeSantis and the conservative group Moms for Liberty to object to books that merely mentioned systemic racism, gender bias, and the LGBTQ+ community. This outraged Grace.
During the fall, Grace crafted her famous yellow quilt which depicted some of the books that had already been banned in Martin County schools. Word got out about this amazing centenarian and her quilt, and she appeared on Ali Velchi's program on MSNBC. By the time of the school board meeting in March 2023, there were close to 100 books that had been targeted and banned in this county, and Grace felt she had to speak out and address the school board in person. Her friends Michael and Claire Panella, who had helped her research and design the quilt, also played a role in writing the speech that went viral.
In her speech she spoke passionately of her first husband, Robert Nicoll, who had been killed in World War II by the Nazis. She made the poignant point that he had died defending the freedoms we enjoy, freedoms the Nazis took away from their own people, including the right to read books. As she said so eloquently to the school board,
"Banned books and burning books are the same.
Both are done for the same reason: fear of knowledge.
Fear is not freedom.
Fear is not liberty.
Fear is control."
After the video of her speech went viral on Tiktok with more than 1.5 million views, she began appearing more on MSNBC and other cable channels as well as local and independent news. Grace was dubbed "Warrior Queen" by many due to her insistence that "we must fight back and not let history repeat itself, we must not allow for censorship, and we must treat everyone equally."
This has been her battly cry, and Grace has undoubtedly inspired many by her activism and outspoken support for everyone.
If you haven't seen the video of Grace speaking before the school board, click here to view it or do a search on Youtube.
Born in the USA
Grace’s parents immigrated to America from Italy in the early 1900s. Her father Antonio DeNicola (b. 1890) and her mother Rosa Romano (b. 1896) were engaged in Italy, but Antonio wanted to get established in America first before they got married. He left Rosa and came to America in 1908 where he first joined his brother in Roseto, PA, a town that had been settled by immigrants from southern Italy in the 1880s. He went to school to learn English and eventually became a foreman who specialized in finishing cement. After he felt financially secure, he contacted Rosa to come to America and they were married.
Grace was the baby sister to her three older brothers Jerry, Daniel, and Floyd. She was born on October 18, 1922 in Mingo Junction, Ohio, and much of her youth took place during the Depression. She says she learned much from her parents, who were good people who looked after others. She remembers her parents "had a fruit and vegetable garden in their backyard and gave away food to help the hungry. In fact, the sidewalk in front of our home was marked to let the hungry know that this was a place where you were welcomed and could get food." Another way her parents showed compassion for others was that Grace's mother was the local midwife in the area and she sheltered an abused mother and her children in their home for a while. By displaying good character themselves, Grace's parents instilled it in her. Her parents required that every day she had to tell them of at least one act of kindness that she had performed herself on that day. Reflecting on the influence of her parents on her own life, Grace has said, "I didn't become what I am on my own. It was inherited and it was lived with my parents."
Grace was very precocious. She quickly learned to play the piano and French horn. Though she entered grade school predominately speaking Italian, she quickly learned the English language. She had read the Bible three times by the time she was 12. She also learned to drive a car when she was 12 (and she still drives today at age 102!). She made excellent grades in school and actually skipped two years ahead, graduating from high school at age 16 with a college scholarship. However, the culture was different then and she was not allowed to go off to college on her own at such a young age – even though her brothers and the other boys in town had been able to do that. That reinforced in her the belief that girls were treated differently from boys - that they didn't have the same rights and privileges. Later, when she started working at a hospital, this became even more evident by the salary she received versus the salaries of the men who worked along side of her.
Another lesson she learned at a young age was that being an immigrant caused you to be treated differently. She remembers the insults that were slung her way just because her parents were from Italy and spoke Italian in the home. Having experienced the sting of discrimination first-hand, Grace grew up believing fervently "that all people have the same worth - that they should all be treated equally." It has been her rallying cry ever since those early days in Mingo Junction, and it influenced her decision to make the Banned and Targeted quilt and speak out in defense of targeted groups.
Be sure to click on each picture for more details.
 Quilted front door entrance at Grace's house |  Grace and Banned Books |
|---|---|
 Mingo Junction |  3rd grade classmates |
 Three brothers with Grace |
Early Married Life
After finishing school at 16 but with no college in town to attend, Grace lived at home with her parents and helped them out at home. She also loved to dance, and so she would sometimes go to nearby clubs with her brothers - never by herself - where she could socialize and dance. It was during this time that she danced with Dino Paul Crocetti, who later became known as Dean Martin.
Her heart was not taken by the future Dean Martin, however, but by another gentleman she had known since school named Robert Nicoll, who had recently been drafted by the Army. They were married on March 30, 1940 in Mingo Junction. She soon left Ohio for Fort Hood, Texas, where Robert had been transferred. World War II, however, interrupted their time together as Robert was sent to Falmouth, England as part of an ammunitions unit, which supplied armament for the French Resistance, and Grace returned home to her parents in Mingo Junction. But there was one difference from before: Grace was pregnant.
Months passed and Grace remembers reading about the horrors of war and fearing for her husband. One day she saw a man dressed in military clothing walking up the street and her heart sank. She suspected that he had bad news to share with her, and she was right: Robert was missing in battle. A couple of months later she found herself in the hospital giving birth to their daughter Nicci. It was only three days later when Grace received a telegraph while still in the hospital confirming that Robert and 16 members of his group had indeed been killed by the Nazis three months earlier in a bombing.
 Grace 1st wedding |  Wedding Day |
|---|---|
 Robert and Grace before deployment |  Grace holds picture |
Life in Weirton, WV
A widow with a newborn and no financial support, Grace went back home from the hospital to live with her parents in Mingo Junction and raise her daughter. A few years later she went out one night to go roller skating - one of her favorite hobbies - and she met a gentleman with striking coppery hair who caught her fancy. Tom Householder was a veteran who, coincidentally, had been stationed in Italy and thus could speak Italian to some degree. They fell in love and eventually married and he was welcomed into the home with Grace's parents. Tom adopted Nicci and they had a daughter of their own named Gloria (Gigi). When Gigi turned 5, Grace decided it was time to get a job of her own.
By then, they had moved across the Ohio River into Weirton, WV and she heard that nearby Weirton Medical Center needed an overnight switchboard operator and admissions clerk. One of the job requirements was that you be able to type; however, as a high school student taking college-prep type classes, she had not been allowed to take a typing class. To remedy the situation, she borrowed a typewriter and taught herself almost overnight how to type before she had to report to work. Grace has said, "My roles as wife, single mother, and then mother and wife were my proudest achievement during this portion of my life," but it was time to engage in the working world.
She ultimately spent 33 years at Weirton Medical Center. During the early years there, she saw the great need for automatic billing in the hospital. Just as she had taught herself to type, she taught herself computer programming and eventually designed systems that her hospital could use. In fact, she more or less started the computer department at the hospital. She sat in on all the medical committees in the hospital and developed many systems to help these departments as well. In particular, she developed a pharmacy unit dosing and microbiology reporting system which other medical centers all over the world also began using. Grace and her computer system received special recognition by the CDC for this beneficial new technology. In a largely male-dominated profession, Grace also became the first woman president of the Computer Hospital Users Group for NCR and the first woman president of the Federation NCR Users Group. As Grace tells it, in spite of her accomplishments she still did not receive the salary of her less accomplished male workers, thus reinforcing in her the idea that sexism exists in the workforce.
Her daughter Gigi has summarized what life was like in the Householder household during much of the time in Weirton: "I arrived home one night at 11:30 unannounced and the driveway was full of both familiar and unfamiliar vehicles. I was greeted at the door by my mother in roller skates, for she was breaking the skates in....I also saw my mother fixing a broken piece of equipment, conversing with a friend in Italian, teaching another how to sew, counseling someone on how to approach a problem, and designing a new outfit for me to wear the next day....That was a typical evening at home where I grew up." She understood well that life at her home was quite different from those of her friends, but she understood how full and interesting life was with her mom.
 Tom Householder |  Householder family |
|---|---|
 Grace with her team at retirement |  Another recognition for Grace |
 Grace teaching computer programming |  Grace with co-worker before retiring |
 Grace skating |
Jensen Beach and Married Again
In 1987 Grace retired from the medical center - where she had moved from switchboard operator all the way up to Director of Managment Information and Communication - and she and Tom moved to a condo in Jensen Beach and planned to build a single family home in the area. She and Tom led a full life and Grace became involved in the community. Among various activities, Grace took a leadership role in Planned Parenthood and she taught computer skills to adults at one of the local schools. In 1990, one month before they were to move into their new home, Tom died of heart failure.
A widow again, Grace moved alone into the home she and Tom had planned to have together, and she still lives there today. For the next ten years Grace worked on fundraising with Planned Parenthood, worked as office manager for Florida Sportsman Magazine Fishing Shows, and became heavily involved in an environmental advocacy group in the area. It was at one of the environmental group meetings that Grace met Fred Linn and, after a brief courtship, they decided to marry - much to the chagrin of the other single ladies in Grace's circle of contacts who fancied Fred. They remained married for 22 years until he passed away from a heart attack in November 2022. During the years before Fred passed, they took in one of Fred's grandchildren and raised him until he finished high school, advocating passionately for a good public education for him.
 Florida bound |  Fred and Grace |
|---|---|
 Dancing Queen |  Country dancer |
 Birthday fun |  The Kiss |
 100th Birthday Party |  Seamstress for life |
 A little whimsy |  Award-winning photo |
 Friends and laughter |  Claire, Michael, & Grace |
Passionate Advocacy
It was just a short time after Fred died that Grace's video at the school board became viral. She was beseiged with interview requests from national and local media - MSNBC, CNN, WPTV, Stuart News - you name it. This caught the attention of movie producer Sheila Nevins of Ruby River Productions, and she began to consider making a documentary film on the increasing censorship taking place in schools across the country. She contacted Grace, and after a conversation with her, she knew this spirited centenarian should be featured in her documentary. The result was "The ABCs of Book Banning." The film was well received and nominated for an Oscar for short documentary. Grace was invited to fly to LA for the Oscar's luncheon, where she had the chance to meet movie stars, many of whom already knew of Grace's work. When actress Annette Benning saw Grace, she ran up to her and gave her a big hug, saying she respected so much the work that Grace had done on book banning. Grace later returned to walk the red carpet and attend the Oscar's ceremony. It was the memory of a lifetime. Grace was happy the film got nominated because the publicity allowed her to continue to have an audience for discussing the danger of censorship and book banning.
PEN America is a nonprofit whose purpose is to advocate for the freedom to write and they have been especially critical of book bans. This group was behind "The ABCs of Book Banning," and they created a short video featuring Grace. See this moving video below.
Likely because of the bullying she received as the daughter of immigrants, Grace has a special place in her heart for all marginalized people. She uses her celebrity status to advocate strongly for equality and acceptance for all. Last year, along with drag artist Shelita Taylor, Grace was the Grand Marshall for the Treasure Coast Pride Parade. She is quick to point out that "some of the finest people I have known in my lifetime have been from the LGBTQ+ community." This is why she was particularly taken back when books began to be removed from school shelves simply because they had a gay character, and it motivated her to speak out strongly on their behalf.
At 102 years young, Grace continues to live in the home that she and Tom had built. Coming from an outliers family in Italy, where her maternal grandmother lived to be 115, she exhibits the same independence and health of her forebears. She still drives herself places (even at night), reads and learns, attends Democratic Club, Democratic Women's Club. and Stuart Women's Club meetings, goes to protest rallies, and watches MSNBC and other news outlets to keep abreast of the current political scene. She also continues to quilt, have her tea and Italian cookies at 2:00 pm each day with her friends, regularly attend musicales held by her good friend Dr. Marie Juriet-Beamish, attend the concerts put on by the Altantic Classical Orchestra, spend time with her devoted daughter Gigi, and enjoy the wide circle of friends she has accumulated over the years. There is no doubt that Grace has led an active, full, and curious life and, at 102 1/2 as of this writing, she continues to be a trailblazer and an inspiration to all.
Thank you, Grace, for showing all of us that a life full of creativity and positivity, one that has such a far-reaching effect on so many, is a life well-lived.
Thank you for standing up and speaking out so eloquently about book censorship taking place in our local schools and communities.
Thank you for standing up for the marginalized in society, especially the LGBTQ+, with your words and interactions.
Thank you for supporting your local Martin County Democratic Party and bringing attention to our efforts.
Most of all, thank you for being you and spreading your light within our community and beyond.
For all of this and more, we honor you , Grace DeNicola Nicoll Householder Linn, as a
Martin County Democratic Party All Star!!