7/19/2005

Getting to know Louise Gulyas
By Dolores E. Pike

There is no doubt that Louise Gulyas’ roots are firmly planted in Ocean City.  Her mother, Louise Elliott, was born and raised in Ocean City.  Her grandfather, Thomas Elliott, was mayor of Ocean City when a storm cut the inlet through in 1933.  Add to that the fact that her late husband Steve was born here.  She says, “This is the place where I found the love of my life when I was 12 or 14. 

“Even though I was not raised here this has always been home.  And I still see those same people around town that I have seen all of my life.  They are friends.”

At the close of school in June Ms. Gulyas would come from Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, where she lived with her parents, to Ocean City to stay on her aunts’ farms until her parents came “down home” for vacation.  Her parents eventually bought property in town in the 1940s and built a house on St. Louis Avenue.  Ms. Gulyas and her husband, who died 11 years ago, took over the property in the 1960s and moved here permanently in the 1980s.  She has just recently sold the house and will be moving into a nearby condo within the next couple of months.

Three of Ms. Gulyas’ four children live nearby and the other one lives in North Carolina with his wife and three children. Her one daughter suffered a serious diving accident 22 years ago and was paralyzed from the chest down.  She has her own home in Berlin and is now able to drive a car. Her other daughter, whose husband was killed in an automobile accident in Washington, D.C. three years ago, suffers from diabetes and lost a leg to the disease last year.

Five years ago Ms. Gulyas elected to have stomach bypass surgery and as a result was able to lose 200 pounds. The last thing the doctor told her before she went into the operating room was that she could die.

“I just looked at this doctor and I said, ‘If you think I’m letting my kids off that easily you have another thought coming.  I’m staying until I drool,’” she said, continuing that the surgery and its aftermath was the hardest things she ever did in her life but she would do it again.  She gave up smoking prior to having the surgery.  She is not able to drink alcohol, eat desserts or red meat.

Ms. Gulyas was instrumental in starting Ocean City’s Winterfest celebration.  She got things started with $10,000 from the mayor and bought the lights.  She feels it has been a wonderful project that brings a lot of people to town. She is the official greeter each year at the Winterfest Gala and says that she pretty much knows everyone who comes in the door.  A black tie affair, the gala will be held in November at Seacrets.

When Ms. Gulyas first ran for an office, a seat on the City Council, she lost and was devastated, vowing never to run for office again. But just a few years later, just out of the hospital after gallbladder surgery, friends approached her and suggested she run for Worcester County commissioner.  She has now been in office for seven years and says that it is the most rewarding thing she has done in her life.  She plans to run for another term.

“I think our county is a good county. We have tourism, agriculture, forest and open space.  There seems to be a lot of building going on but, I hate to say it, that’s progress.  As long as it is kept under control with zoning, this is the way to handle it,” she said.

It is the people that interest her and make her want to serve.  Her main focus is senior citizens and kids.  Ms. Gulyas is chairman of the Maryland Commission on Aging.  She was just recently appointed as a delegate by Governor Robert Ehrlich to the White House Commission on Aging (WHCoA), which will meet from December 11 to 14 in Washington, D.C.  She feels this is quite an honor since the conference is held every 10 years.  Even though she has not received her conference packet, she has signed up for all of the workshops saying that she is going there to learn.

Ms. Gulyas is exceedingly proud of Worcester County schools.  With the Ocean City Elementary School scheduled to open this fall, she looks towards new goals; replacing the county’s vocational school, followed by the upgrading or redesign of Snow Hill and Pocomoke High Schools. 

When Showell Elementary School held a “tech fest” Ms. Gulyas was there being indoctrinated into the wonders of the electronic age by a computer-literate third grader.  After complaining several times that she could not see the screen, the astute youngster, much to the chagrin of his mother sitting nearby, suggested that maybe Ms. Gulyas should put on her glasses.

She laughed as she recalled the experience.  Ms. Gulyas said she could not go through life without her keen sense of humor that she inevitably leans upon.