I was a 22-year-old cub reporter when I first arrived in Portsmouth.  One of my first duties was to cover city council meetings.  Upon discovering that the mayor was a woman, I phoned my parents to say, “Hey, we’ve got a lady mayor.”

Eileen Foley’s death at 97 has saddened city officials and residents in this “City of the Open Door.”

I had many opportunities to interview her during her years as mayor and afterward. I caught up with Jack Blalock, a current city council member and son of the late Dick Blalock, who served with Eileen Foley in the 70’s.

For InDepthNH.org, I’m Roger Wood.