When Sadie Mulkey was first elected to the Dawson-Bryant Board of Education, a gallon of gas cost 63 cents. It was 1978 and except for a six-month period in the 1980s, she has been on the board ever since.

“I just had an interest in what was going on with the schools,” she said about why she ran initially. “I went to the schools. My kids went to the schools. I was active in the PTA and I just decided to run.”

When the polls closed on election night in 1977, Mulkey became the first woman ever elected to the Dawson Bryant Board of Education.

“That seems strange now because of the board’s five current members four of them are women,” she said. “

Mulkey, 70, graduated from Dawson-Bryant in 1960 and immediately enrolled at a beauty college in Ashland, Ky., and after graduating worked as a hairstylist until 1996, when she turned her attention back to children.

“My husband died in 1985 and his insurance would only cover me for a certain amount of time,” she said. “So in 1996 I went to work at the early childhood development center in Hanging Rock and have been there ever since.”

Both of Mulkey’s children, son, Brian, and daughter, Pam Carpenter, are educators. Brian is the guidance counselor and athletic director at Dawson-Bryant High School and Carpenter is the speech pathologist for Ironton City Schools.

“I told her not to run the last time she ran,” Brian said. “I think she just feels it is time to give it up.”

Mulkey agrees with her son’s opinion.

“It’s just time to let someone else take the reins,” she said. “I love my school district and I have seen a lot of accomplishments. But sometimes it takes new minds to get the ball rolling in the right direction.”

Mulkey has worked through seven superintendents, who, she says, is the person responsible for making the board look good. Oftentimes she is approached by teachers and other employees of the district who express appreciation for everything she’s done while on the board.

“I’ve been there through good times, like when new schools got built,” she said. “But I’ve been there through bad times, too, like the DeRolph lawsuit when we sued to get equal funding.”

DeRolph v. State of Ohio was filed because school funding was not being allocated equally.

“It never really got straightened out,” Mulkey said. “We did get a new school built, though.”

Although her time on the board is coming to an end Mulkey isn’t planning to slow down any, saying she loves working with the students and feels as if it “keeps her young.” She also plans to remain active in her church, the Jeffersonville Missionary Baptist Church, and spend time with her six grandchildren.

Dawson-Bryant Board of Education President Jim Beals has served with Mulkey for the past 14 years and he said she will be missed.

“We have a great relationship. I always look to her for advice and value her opinion,” he said. “She is a good Christian lady and a team person who has always been for the betterment of the school district.”

Newly elected Brady Harrison will take Mulkey’s place on the board.

“I don’t see myself as a replacement because she can’t be replaced,” Harrison said. “Sadie left some big shoes to fill and I’m not even going to try and fill them. I am just going to go in with an open mind and try and do my best.”

Mulkey said it is doubtful she will run again in the future.

“I think it’s time for me to leave the board for good,” she said. “But like I’ve always heard, you should never say never.”