Lifelong “Eastsider” Lu Ella Morrow Webster to be inducted into city’s Hall of Fame
Lu Ella “Lu” Morrow Webster sits on a bench that friends purchased and dedicated to her. It’s her favorite spot to take in the joy of Kelly Park. Eight years ago, Lu helped lead a $250,000 effort to rebuild the park into a vibrant, family-friendly gathering spot. (Photo by Gwen O’Brien, NEN resident)
By Gwen O’Brien, NENC Corresponding Secretary and NNRO Board Member
If you walked into the Northeast Neighborhood for the first time, it wouldn't take long to hear the name Lu Ella Morrow Webster.
Known affectionately by neighbors as "superintendent” of Kelly Park and by police as the “Eastside Mayor,” Lu Ella has spent a lifetime strengthening the place she calls home, bringing neighbors, community groups, and major institutions together to turn big ideas into lasting change.
Lu’s nomination to the South Bend Hall of Fame comes as no surprise to those who have known her for years. Marguerite Taylor, a fellow lifelong resident of the neighborhood, shares a deep bond with Lu Ella, rooted in a mutual love for their community.
“Lu Ella represents the heart of the Eastside,” said Marguerite, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. "She doesn’t just lead—she has fought for this neighborhood, and her dedication will positively shape it for generations to come."
Growing up
Lu Ella is one of 15 children who grew up at 701 E. Howard Street. It was a small two bedroom house, which meant there were several bunk beds in the kids’ room.
Her parents had moved to South Bend from Tennessee. They had considered living in Detroit, but Lu Ella’s uncle had a job at Studebaker and told them there were plenty of manufacturing jobs in South Bend. A white landlord showed the Howard Street home to Lu Ella’s father and mother, and the white neighbors were not happy about it.
Lu Ella represented the neighborhood at the official ribbon cutting for the Link Trail in April 2025. (Photos by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)
“The landlord told the neighbors, ‘This is my property and I can rent it to whoever I want to.’ He ended up selling the home to them,” Lu Ella recalled of the story.
Growing up, Lu Ella considered Marguerite, who is seven years older than her, to be a role model. Marguerite was friends with one of Lu’s older sisters.
“Our families all went to First AME Zion Church on Campeau Street. We all grew up at that church,” Lu Ella said. “Marguerite and I became real close, like sisters. It’s because of Marguerite that I got into community involvement work. She would say, ‘Come with me to this or that meeting.’”
Lu Ella is pictured at the ribbon cutting on the left, next to Rev. Robert Dowd, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame.
Marguerite’s example and some practical advice from her mom led Lu Ella to her life’s work.
“I once asked my mother, ‘Why do all my brothers and sisters get all the good stuff?’ and she said to me, ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get.’ I thought, well, if I don’t get involved in the community, then nothing will get done here. So by going to those meetings with Marguerite, I just started speaking up to make sure our voices are heard. I guess it’s been my life’s purpose to speak up and get involved.”
Faith and service
From an early age, Lu Ella’s faith and community service went hand in hand. As a devoted member of First Church, she sang in the Youth Choir, later serving on the Youth Committee, and eventually taking on responsibility as a church trustee.
Her early devotion to young people quickly grew into a lifelong mission. Over the years, Lu Ella served on the city’s Red Ribbon Committee, mentoring local kids and encouraging them to stay away from drugs and alcohol. She also worked through the Northeast Neighborhood Council (NENC) to give local kids a chance to experience summer camp, spending hours recruiting children and reassuring parents that it would be a life-changing experience.
Lu’s connection to the NENC spans more than three decades, including roles as secretary and vice president. But her civic work doesn't stop at council meetings. Lu Ella has served South Bend through neighborhood watch efforts, various civic boards, and the City’s Community Police Review Board. Among the many honors Lu Ella earned in her lifetime is the 2023 St. Joseph County Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks Award. She has earned her reputation simply as someone who shows up, speaks up, and genuinely cares.
Robinson Community Learning Center
Perhaps Lu Ella’s most enduring legacy is her work with the Robinson Community Learning Center, which is named for Marguerite’s mother, Renelda Robinson, another community advocate. Lu has been a central fixture at RCLC for more than two decades, helping shape its vision from day one.
Lu Ella hands a child popcorn at RCLC’s 25th Anniversary Picnic held at Kelly Park on April 29, 2026. (Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)
More than 25 years ago, when Notre Dame’s then-president Rev. Edward “Monk” Malloy, C.S.C., first proposed the center, the “locals” were understandably cautious about the University’s intentions. “We didn’t have a relationship with Notre Dame back then. We were just us and they were them,” Lu Ella said.
She and Marguerite didn't miss a single meeting, sitting across the table from Notre Dame leaders to ensure the community’s voice was heard. When the University asked what the neighborhood truly needed, neighbors let them know and, together, RCLC was born.
Once the doors opened, Lu Ella threw herself into the work. She started as an AmeriCorps staff member, working alongside the community service director, a role she was eventually promoted to. Today, as the RCLC’s Adult Programs Coordinator, she makes sure older adults have a place to gather, learn, and stay connected. Thanks to Lu, seniors from across South Bend enjoy computer classes, two thriving book clubs, yoga and fitness classes, and regular lunch-and-learn events.
Seventeen years ago, with Notre Dame, Lu Ella founded “Turning over a New Leaf,” a raking assistance program for senior citizens. On a Saturday each fall, about 50 Notre Dame students come into the neighborhood and rake leaves. Lu matches seniors with the students.
Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, in 2025, she threw seniors a senior prom at the Morris Inn. Executive Chef Calvin Metts and Lu pulled out all the stops for a magical evening that included crowning a 77-year-old prom king and an 89-year-old prom queen. “We thought it was cute that she is so much older than him,” Lu Ella said.
Kelly Park
Kelly Park is another physical space in the neighborhood that bears Lu Ella’s fingerprints. Eight years ago, when the city park was deteriorating, Lu Ella helped lead a $250,000 effort through the NENC to rebuild the park into a vibrant, family-friendly gathering spot, making sure children at RCLC were directly involved in the design.
A girl enjoys a swing at Kelly Park during RCLC’s 25th Anniversary Picnic held on April 29, 2026. (Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame)
Lu Ella’s connection to Kelly Park is strong, in part because she has spent most of her life living across the street from it. Years after her parents had sold her childhood home, she built a new home on the same spot. People have mistaken her for the park’s “superintendent.” She recently received a call from someone asking her permission to be married in the park!
She also serves as the unofficial host of the neighborhood’s Back to School Picnic. Every year, she transforms her home into party central. Alongside NENC friends, she spends the afternoon grilling hot dogs, setting up traffic cones to block off the street, and hauling folding tables out of her garage to feed a crowd of a hundred people or more. (This year she had to curb her activities since she is recovering from back surgery, but she was there, sitting in her driveway handing out cookies and bags of popcorn to kids.)
While partners like the RCLC, NENC, and Notre Dame help sponsor the event, it’s Lu Ella’s personal touch that turns it into a warm, homespun block party.
A Night to Remember
Ever since Lu Ella received word from the South Bend Education Alliance that she would be inducted into the South Bend Hall of Fame, she has been on cloud nine. Lu has taken great care to be ready for the big day—having her back surgery well ahead of time so she will be fully recovered in time for the banquet, which is Tuesday, October 13, at Century Center.*
Lu Ella, right in front, poses for a photo at this year’s Back to School Picnic, which takes place on Howard Street between her home and Kelly Park. (Photo by Gwen O’Brien/NEN resident)
Her son Sparticus Fleming and daughter Heather Madden Shemwell will be there as well as extended family from as far as Illinois, California, Massachusetts, Georgia, Florida, Virginia and Arizona will be there. Friends and family from South Bend and Elkhart will also be there.
It is not lost on her that her cohort includes others who have also had a big impact on South Bend, like “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg and the late Rev. Donald McNeill, C.S.C. “Padre Don” was himself a Northeast Neighborhood resident who lived next door to Marguerite and helped neighbors and the University envision what RCLC could be.
“I am humbled and honored to be included,” she said. “I think it was just my calling to get involved in the community.”
*Tickets to the South Bend Hall of Fame are available to purchase through Tuesday, October 6.
