Nicole Lobue

The interview with was conducted with Nicole LoBue on July 1, 2016 in Hudson, New York as part of the collaboration between the Social Justice Leadership Academy and the Oral History Summer School. Nicole is the founder of Kite’s Nest, a learning resource centre for children and teenagers in Hudson, New York. In the interview, Nicole discusses growing up in Yonkers, New York in the northern Bronx, and being raised by a single mom. She talks about the dual-reality of living in Yonkers with her mom on the one hand and visiting her father on weekends in the suburbs on the other. She describes her strong connection to her to Sicilian family on her father’s side, remembering how they always grew their own food, had big gardens and how she spent much of her weekends picking fruit and plants and eating tomatoes off the vine, while in the city, days and nights were spent running around the streets, playing in the fire hydrants, and attending great programs that were on offer including a library bus that would visit the neighborhood, noting that she feels grateful for having experienced both environments. She discusses the shift to junior high where she was bullied, and then how when she began high school her mother began to remove herself from the house so she spent a lot of time taking care of her little sister. She then describes how she came to Hudson, raising her son, and how she started Kite’s Nest, discussing her hopes for the organization in the future.

This interview may be of interest to those who want to learn more about growing up in Yonkers, New York in the 1980s; the experience of a newer resident in Hudson; setting up a community organization; and the role and complexity of family.