This month’s Woman of Ward 6 is Jackie Von Schlegel (1939-2016), a longtime Capitol Hill realtor. The Ward 6 Democrats are recognizing and honoring Ward 6 women who have made significant contributions to better our community as a lead-up to the 2020 anniversary of the ratification of the 19thAmendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Jackie Felty Von Schlegel was born in eastern Tennessee. She came to the District for a visit and stayed. She discovered the Hill in 1992 and made it her home. A beautiful, brassy blonde, Van Schlegel was a born saleswoman who became a fixture on Capitol Hill and told the Hill Rag in 2009 “Capitol Hill is the love on my life.” She could often be found holding court on Tunnicliff Tavern’s patio.
Von Schlegel spent more than 20 years working as a real estate agent, finding homes for families and enjoying life with her neighbors. She was a consummate professional and understood her responsibility as a business person to nurture and support her neighborhood.
She was particularly fond of Siamese cats (hers often appeared in her ads in the Hill Rag), but loved all felines. She donated generously to animal causes and took in strays.
With a lovely Tennessee drawl that she never lost, she could hold a gathering completely in thrall. Her sense of humor was offbeat, wickedly inappropriate at times and sweet at others.
She was the original organizer of Hilloween, where thousands of costumed children, parents and dogs throng the 200 block of Seventh Street, near Eastern Market each year at Halloween. Von Schlegel would stand among the pandemonium, dressed as Capitol Hill’s Good Witch, dispensing hugs, kisses and candy to any child within arm’s reach. She did not so much change Capitol Hill, as enliven it.
Know of a Woman of Ward 6 you’d like to nominate for this honor? Send an email to marcihilt@aol.com.
About the Initiative: The Women of Ward 6 initiative is a non-partisan recognition of Ward 6’s women. The initiative, in partnership with the National Woman’s Party, Capitol Hill Restoration Society and the Hill Rag, will culminate in the 2020 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
Marci Hilt is a retired communications coordinator and press secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She currently writes and edits EMMCA MATTERS and is the treasurer of the Ward 6 Democrats.
