ZONTA CLUB OF THE PIKES PEAK AREA

Member Profiles Eva Mattedi

Hi, my name is Eva Maria Mattedi.

I joined the unique and wonderful Zonta Club of the Pike`s Peak area after being invited a second time by Club member and dear friend Gail Koshevnikov to speak about my upbringing in and escape from East Germany to West Germany in 1967 at the fearless age of 20!

I then felt it was the perfect timing and the ideal group to volunteer with and engage in projects that Zonta stands for. I felt very honored to represent our club as Director for one year and thank all the members for their trust and help and encouragement, as I was still a " Greenhorn". One of the Highlights was the attendance of the International Zonta Conference in Sweden, two years ago. Please, each member, do consider to be part of the very next Conference Down Under as it will truly make you realize the power of our big organization to change women`s lives.

I was born in Brandenburg/ Germany and grew up in Thueringen (Jena, Weimar), a beautiful forested area of then communist East Germany that reminds me a lot of the Manitou Springs area, both in quaintness and history. I love this area so much that in my heart it will always be home for me!

Growing up we were often given great cultural presentations by the Russian soldiers and their families, stationed in East Germany, plus being influenced by my mother`s connections with Russia as a child herself I became very interested in the language and the country. After graduating from High School I choose to study Russian and German.

Two years into my studies I met my future first husband who was visiting his family and had lived in the West for many years already. He played the major role in my escape via the Czech and Austrian border. We were very lucky that nobody near the Czech border watched us trying to build a hiding place in his car. There were plenty of heavily armed and eager soldiers all around ready to make an arrest or to shoot, if necessary.... I won`t go into more details for now as I still like to write about this experience and try to keep the memory undiluted.

The driver of the car really deserves the most credit for his courage and ability to deal with the suspicious border patrols. There was an extreme high penalty for anyone who helped East Germans to escape.

Even though both sides, the guards on the Czech and Austrian border, searched the car, I was not discovered. It was a close call, however, and every second is engraved in my memory. Nobody probably could imagine that a person would fit in the little and uncomfortable space we had created. That was our luck and the fact that the guards were not very familiar with this type of car.

I remember being pulled out of the car on the Austrian side and seeing those cows grazing in the lush country side with their humungous bells ringing on their necks, I guess it was a "Welcome" Austrian style... It didn`t seem real that now I had entered an entire new world, and only later did I realize how much I missed my friends with whom I grew up, who I would not be able to see for about 10 years. Until a certain " Amnesty" later I was still considered an East German citizen and would have been penalized if I tried to go back.

I continued my studies in additional languages and Physical Education in Heidelberg and Tuebingen, and after my first year of teaching at a school for children with special needs decided to specialize in Speech Therapy and earned my Masters in Special Ed. I had been a single Mom for some years when I met my wonderful and supportive second husband Ric who many of you got to know at various events. I met him at a Folk Dance Class in the Birth house of Albert Einstein, and we have danced together ever since.... In 1981 we married and came to the United States, as Ric`s work Contract with Telefunken ended. We lived in Dallas first (what an adjustment for me !!!), and five years later jumped at the opportunity to move to Colorado which is home for Ric. I joined the ranks of Mary Kay Cosmetics soon after I arrived in the States. Being associated with great role models and excellent teaching gave me confidence in the English language and taught me people skills. I especially have always since then enjoyed working closely with women. My special Hobbies are travelling the world, reading, writing and Nature. My true passion during late summer and Fall is Wild Mushroom hunting, demanding physically and time-wise, but keeping me in shape and creating a balance for my otherwise busy life.

Eva and Ric

Eva