NOTA gets a new flagpole

By Don Rush

Last Thursday family members of Gertrude “Gert” Curtis gathered at the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) headquarters in Oxford Village to dedicate a new flagpole.

“On behalf of the NOTA employees, NOTA board and our communities we are so grateful for your thoughtful donation of a beautiful flagpole from the Curtis family in memory of Gert Curtis,” Lynn Gromaski, Executive Director of NOTA said.

The flagpole and landscaping are in front of the NOTA facility at 675 Glaspie St. The donation was nearly $1,400.

Gertrude Elizabeth Curtis was 95 when she passed away on January 12 of this year. She and her husband ran the family business, Curtis Floor Covering in Oxford from the 1950s through the 2000s. She did the company books until 2017.

“We were sitting around trying to figure out where to make a donation in my mom’s honor,” daughter Karen Etherton said. “Then we thought, NOTA! She loved NOTA, she used it and it’s local. Honestly when she was in her wheelchair we could not have gotten her around without NOTA – it’s one of the best things going in this community.”

Gert’s son Harry also said his mom would be “tickled” to know that Brett Landscaping did the stone work around the flagpole, “We used to do work for Dan (Brett), she liked him.”

Gert’s four children (Karen, Harry, Kirk and Kriss) and their spouses were on for the dedication.