Motel Mama
story by Sunny Strader
The folks who sleep at the Colonel House Motel aren’t just occupants – they’re residents.
Motels are typically designed for temporary stays, but this particular establishment tends to bring in customers and keep them there. With some of the lowest rates in town, the Colonel House often attracts people in difficult states of transition.
That’s how Lisa Schultz, also known as “Mama,” ended up living in the in the motel for the past year and a half. Between jobs and seeking a new start, Schultz moved to the motel in May of 2012. She and her 6-year-old son, Kayden, do not plan on leaving anytime soon.
“Even if you ain’t someone anywhere else, we treat you like you’re someone here,” Mama said.
Her room, completely furnished, is open to friends and neighbors. On a given afternoon, five or six people might be seen sitting on her couch watching “CBS News 48 hours,” cooking chili, or exchanging gossip.
The 39-year-old Mama was hired as housekeeper and maintenance worker by motel management in May of 2013.
Her job requires her to be available 24 hours a day and handle emergency calls, though she is only paid for 20 hours of work a week. A small but loyal group of friends, whom she refers to as “the goof troop,” assists her with some of the duties when they can.
“We help each other with the kids, and if anyone is running low on anything, we step up and lend them the money. It’s like one big family here,” Mama said.
Her maternal nature attracts many of the semi-permanent customers of the motel. Children, single parents, ex-models, state-released prisoners, war veterans, and many others gravitate toward her cooking, her hospitality, and her receptive ear.
Mama makes the motel feel like a home.
Linda Schultz goes to a Family Dollar store to purchase toilet paper and other items for the motel. "We shop Friday mornings because Friday is pay day," she says.
Linda Schultz (left) paints the door frames on the first floor of the Colonel House Motel alongside members of the "goof troop" Gail Thompson (center) and Tanya Hayes.
After cleaning from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Linda Schultz (left) makes time to visit and smoke with the motel's porch dwellers, who declined to give their names.
Linda Schultz manages to finish cleaning rooms by 3 p.m. so she can spend time with her 6-year-old son, Kayden Cartwright. "I've had five kids," she says. "Four are alive, and one committed suicide. But Kayden here keeps me young. He keeps me going."
On days that Mama finishes her cleaning with time to spare, she picks up son Kayden Cartwright, 6, and the other children who stay at the Colonel House Motel from the bus stop.
Linda Schultz and her boyfriend, Joe Killser, cuddle on the couch in her room after Joe finishes his shift at Yager Materials. The couple met when Killser was working a part-time maintenance job for the motel.
Linda Schultz recruits fellow "goof troop" member, Gail Thompson, to assist her in cleaning room 135 of the motel.
A can of paint fell on Linda Schultz's shoe when she was moving the cans into the motel storage room.
Linda Schultz (left) paints door frames at the Colonel House Motel with Gail Thompson (center) and Tanya Hayes. "This building is old, and I can't stand when it's broken and dirty because it reflects poorly on me as the housekeeper," Linda says.
Bethany Thomas and her children Keely (left), 2, and baby Darren (right) visit Bethany's mother, Linda Schultz, in room 242. Three generations of the family live in the Colonel House Motel.