Ruby Jeane Bridges Handelsman -- Radio City Rockette and Political Campaigner

 

Ruby Jeane Bridges

 Ruby Jeane Bridges was born on February 21, 1929 in the Mount Calm Township in Fulton County, Arkansas.  She was the sixth of ten children born to Drew Thomas Bridges and Alpha Melvina Cooper Richardson Bridges.  In addition to his ten children with Alpha, Drew had two children by his first wife, Lillie Collins Bridges.  They were Lola Oletha, born in 1913 and Roy Lee, born in 1915.  Ruby’s siblings with Drew and Alpha were Clyde Everett, born in 1918; Thelma Ellen, born in 1921; Coy Lee, born in 1923; Anna May, born in 1927; James Cleve, born in 1931; Junior Glen, born in 1934; Barbara Sue, born in 1937; Bobby Dale, born in 1939 and Alma.  Drew was a farmer and the grandson of Orren Dates Bridges, a Trigg County native who had migrated to Howell County, Missouri in the late 1890s.

Ruby grew up in Mount Calm and attended Fulton County schools. On July 8, 1944 she married William Earl Weldon in Leslie, Arkansas. The marriage was short-lived as they were divorced on August 25, 1945.

Ruby’s life is one that can be considered “a mixture of show business and politics.” Little is known about her climb to show business success.  She was a member of the famed Radio City Music Hall Rockettes in New York City.  Her fame as a Rockette was probably in the 1950s when she was in her 20s. The Rockettes had been an attraction at the Radio City Music Hall since its opening night on December 27, 1932.  After leaving the Rockettes, Ruby moved to Las Vegas where she appeared as a dancer in several Las Vegas shows.

Even though Ruby was talented as a dancer, her real talent was in political campaigning along with her second husband. While in Las Vegas, she met William Douglas Handelsman, a prominent west coast labor leader and activist in local, state and federal politics. Ruby and Bill were married on February 21, 1973 in Las Vegas.  Bill was an American born July 17, 1918 in the Philippines.  He was a Lieutenant in the Maritimes Service for 43 years and was a survivor of Pearl Harbor.

Ruby and Bill moved to San Francisco where they became heavily involved in politics.  In 1978, they were both instrumental in the passage of Californian’s most famous and influential ballot measure known as Proposition 13.  Proposition 13 was an amendment to the state’s constitution which limited property taxation. Ruby also worked on campaigns to elect John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey, San Francisco Mayors Joe Alioto and Dianne Feinstein and California’s Governor Jerry Brown just to name a few.

Bill and Ruby had one child, Patricia. Ruby died on January 10, 1987 in San Francisco at the age of 58.  She was cremated and her ashes were buried in the Mount Calm Cemetery in Viola, Arkansas. When Bill brought her ashes back to her native Arkansas for burial, he was accompanied by the San Francisco chief of police as an escort in honor of her political contributions.  Bill died on August 27, 1993 in San Francisco and was buried in the Garden of: Peace in Colma, California.

Tombstone of Ruby Bridges Handelsman

 

LINEAGE: (Ruby Jeane Bridges Handelsman was the daughter of Drew Thomas and Alpha Melvina Cooper Richardson Bridges and the granddaughter of John William “Buck” and Nancy Pugh Bridges.  John William was the fourth child of Orren Dates and Mary Elizabeth Hixon Bridges.  Orren was the first child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)