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At 89 years old and barely five feet tall, Lula Short is an order-packing powerhouse at Sisk Fulfillment Services in Federalsburg, Maryland.
Miss Lula will celebrate 25 years of concurrent employment with Sisk this coming August. She had previously worked for the company during their early days in Caroline County but left for what she considered a better opportunity, or as she put it, “You know how the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence — even if it is artificial turf? It was that sort of thing.”
As far as what has kept her here all this time, she says: “I enjoy working. I like being around people, and this is a very good place to work because it's like one big happy family.”
You can find Miss Lula at her work station in Sisk Fulfillment’s warehouse, diligently packing materials and ensuring that each label matches the correct package. According to her coworkers and supervisors, “she just doesn’t stop.” But what makes Lula, Lula? Getting an answer to that question is easier said than done.
Although you wouldn’t know it from a simple conversation with this spunky workaholic, Miss Lula is a jack of all trades, a truly selfless volunteer, and one of the Eastern Shore’s most inspiring amateur rappers. But before all of that, she was a young girl living in rural Dorchester County.
The majority of Miss Lula’s retellings showcased her quick-witted sense of humor, but her tone shifted when discussing her childhood. “Don’t tell me about the golden years, because those weren’t the golden years,” Miss Lula recalled her upbringing as the youngest of 14 siblings being raised by a single mother, “I went practically all the way through high school in a house with no electric, no heat, none of the fancy stuff. And I didn't know what TV was until I got married.” Her father died when she was 12 years old, leaving the family to scrape by. She recounted how she and her mother would listen to their battery-operated radio while she matched up squares of piecemeal fabric to create quilts, “it wasn't a fancy quilting, but it kept us warm.”
While listing her places of early education — Peachblossom Elementary, Cambridge Junior High, and Cambridge Senior High — she noted how each are either repurposed or have been torn down over the years. “I guess I’m the only thing left of the schools,” she quipped.
Miss Lula married in 1953 and stuck around Dorchester County. She would go on to have six children. Rather than following a specific plan for her life, she simply took what came at her and did her best. One unexpected and tragic turn was the death of her husband in 1992. Her daughter had moved to Caroline County by this time and suggested that Miss Lula do the same. So, she left her “great big house” in Dorchester behind in favor of a small place in Federalsburg in 1994.
After retiring from Dorchester General Hospital – “when it was there” – she found retired life too boring, saying, “I didn’t know what to do with myself.” She worked part-time at Federal Paper for a while before the business was sold, and she eventually wound up back at Sisk in August of 2000. But in true Miss Lula fashion, she refused to sit behind a desk. “I had sat at a computer for so many years, I said I just want to work with my hands. So, back out I went on the [warehouse] floor.”
Just like her grit, Miss Lula’s generosity knows no bounds. Her coworkers shared that she is a dependable helping hand during any Sisk-sponsored community outreach programs, including sending military care packages and participating in coat or food bank drives. She is also a lifetime member of the Linkwood-Salem Fire Department and was inducted into the Dorchester County Firemen’s Hall of Fame for her efforts in the early days of the fire company. When the company was first founded in 1953, “We had a fire chief and a fire company, but we didn’t even have a fire truck or a firehouse,” she said. Through laughter, she added, “We were more like the bucket brigade.” She says she held just about every position in the fire company, as long she didn’t have to go through fire training.
As for her reasons for being so selfless, she attributes the lessons instilled in her by her upbringing; “I've come through life with people helping me, you know, because my mother was a single mom, and she had work, and I had to do a lot of things that grown-ups would do. I've had several people help me. So, you know, if I can give back, I try to.”
Now, on to the most pressing matter of business: the title of “The Rapping Granny”. The short of it (pun intended) is that Miss Lula started as a hobbyist poet and eventually turned her stanzas into hip-hop verses. “The Rapping Granny comes from [team building] events we do, like the Olympics. So, she cheers her team on… and that’s where the poems started,” shared another member of Sisk staff, “and as she read it, she got this rhythm to her, and it just progressed.” Miss Lula has now become famous in the workplace for these motivational rhymes, and she is happy to oblige, “if anything comes up and they want a little ditty or something.” Still, her poems are famous in their own right. Some Sisk workers have personalized poems by Miss Lula proudly displayed on their desks or walls.
It’s obvious that Miss Lula makes it a point to encourage others, whether it be through volunteer work or writing an uplifting “ditty.” Again, she cites her personal experiences as her motivators, saying, “I’ve had help through my personal tragedies, if I can help someone else through theirs then I feel like I’ve accomplished something.” As a note to those who may be going through a difficult time, she offers the following advice: “You have to put it in your mind: this has happened, we can’t change it, we’ve got to push forward and make the best of what we can do with it.”
Miss Lula currently lives with one of her daughters and two of her great-granddaughters in Federalsburg. When she’s not at Sisk, you can probably bet she’s writing raps, doing word searches, fixing dinner, or spending time with her family (which includes four great-great granddaughters!). But “workin’” is still her favorite pastime. And for those who give her a hard time about her age, Miss Lula simply says, “I’m thankful that I can still work at my age, and you better hope you can too.”
