Meet Your Fort Lee Neighbor: Linda McCue

I recently sat down with Fort Lee Board of Education Trustee Linda McCue. But the BOE is just one of the many contributions Linda has made to the Fort Lee community, following in the footsteps of her family whose involvement in Fort Lee dates back to the end of the 19th century. 

Linda’s maternal ancestors, whose last name was Cavaliere, trace their Fort Lee roots to 1899. In 1954, during the Golden Jubilee celebration of Fort Lee, the Cavaliere family was designated as a “Pioneer Family” of Fort Lee by the United Citizens of the Borough of Fort Lee.

Linda was born and raised in Fort Lee, and her family name was Skelley. The Skelleys have a long and substantial history in Fort Lee. In fact, Linda’s grandfather, David Skelley, was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Postmaster of Fort Lee in June 1936. 

Linda’s mother, Ann, was a teacher and a pioneer in the area of addressing the educational needs of gifted and talented students. She was the creator of the "G and T" curriculum in Fort Lee and a founder of the Gifted Child Society, which is now based in Glen Rock. Linda’s father, Thomas Skelley, was a longtime organizer of the Junior Bridgemen Football program.

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“Fort Lee was always home to me,” McCue said.

She has fond memories of her childhood and discussed the many long held traditions that were a constant in Fort Lee history. There was the “Little Miss Fort Lee” competition; unfortunately Linda didn’t win that one. Other memorable traditions include the Ragamuffin Parade, the annual Turkey Shoot, the 4th of July fireworks down by the middle school and the ice skating rink, affectionately called “the Slippery.”

“There was a natural pond behind the high school that would freeze over in the winter and was filled with skaters on the weekends,” McCue said.

Also, the Thanksgiving Day high school football game was “a big event,” she said.  It started with a family breakfast, then on to the game, where there would always be a huge turnout. The football game was particularly meaningful to the Skelleys given Thomas’ involvement with the youth program. 

As a child, Linda said kids would ride their bikes to the candy store on Main Street and hang out at until the fire siren blew at 7 p.m. when everyone had to get home.

When Linda was a student at Fort Lee High School, she said, “at any given lunch period, students would be sprawled out on the front lawn on blankets sunbathing and socializing.” 

She played guard for the girls basketball team and was named to the National Honor Society and Italian Honor Society. Linda acknowledged that what most people don’t know is that she was “very shy and quiet.”  I found this to be particularly interesting given, the media career that she embarked on.

Upon graduation from high school, Linda enrolled at William Paterson College. At WPC, she joined the college radio station, where she had her first experience of being on air. She then went to work at Vision Cable, and by her junior year, she had become an on-air reporter for Channel 10 News. She was able to balance the demands of a college curriculum with being a correspondent for a live nightly newscast.

Linda said that a professor helped her overcome her shyness on camera by explaining to her that she was “talking to a piece of equipment, a lens, a piece of glass.”

She covered several notable stories during her seven-year career at Channel 10, including being on scene after a fatal commuter plane crash in Cliffside Park. She also covered the kickoff of MTV, interviewing veejays Martha Quinn and Mark Goodman, and interviewed local celebrities like Buddy Hackett.

Linda is currently a freelance writer, producer and voiceover specialist, primarily writing and producing monthly news videos for Con Edison and its employees.  Linda also produces videos involving environmental, health and safety issues.

As Linda entered her 30s and her two sons got older, she discovered a passion for long distance running, endurance sports and weight training. On any given weekend, you will find Linda running 10 miles and/or biking 20 miles through several of our neighboring towns. She maintains her routine year round, including running in the snow, ice and in frigid temperatures.

Linda describes her commitment to fitness as a “mental addiction.” 

“[It] is private time where I find peace, think and come up with some of my best ideas,” she said.

As Linda entered her 40s, she became a veteran competitor, competing in 10 triathlons, several biathlons and four half marathons. 

Triathlons involve swimming, biking and running. Linda once competed in an ocean swim triathlon and was stung by a jellyfish, knocked over by a wave and punched and kicked during the swim. She persevered and was still able to finish the race.  Linda said that the 40 to 50 age group is one of the most competitive at these races.

Although she is regularly training for a triathlon or biathlon, her favorite race is a “mud race.” 

"You start in a mud pit and tackle 5Ks of obstacles, rope climbing, rope bridges, crossing a lake and culminating in trudging through a final mud pit," she explained. 

Linda and her sisters competed in a mud race in Harriman State Park; their team name was the “Dirty Blondes,” and they ran the race wearing long blond wigs.

Even though Linda is raising her sons (along with her husband of 23 years), running her media business, is dedicated to fitness training and also has an eight-year-old Wheaton Terrier named Maggie, Linda still finds time to contribute to the community.

She has been an active member of the PTA of three Fort Lee schools over the course of sixteen years. She has been a member of the Board of Education for six years and is on a committee for the Diabetes Foundation.

She also helps organize a 5K race that alternates every year between Fort Lee and Cliffside Park and is sponsored by each town's Mayor and Council. This event is particularly close to home for Linda as she has family members who battle diabetes in their day-to-day life.

Community service was something stressed by Linda’s parents and she is following in their footsteps. 

“It is important to give back to the community that has given me so much,” she said. “Fort Lee made me the person I am today, my beliefs and values.”

In discussing her tenure on the Board of Education, Linda went into it with high expectations and was hoping to have a bigger impact and accomplish a lot more. 

“We lose sight at all of the great things we do in our schools and our town,” she said.

She suggested that, “we should make issues and differences less personal and realize we are all working toward the same goals.” 

"I am just like everyone in the room regardless where I sit," she sums up. "I am a concerned parent, a community member and a taxpayer. Why would I not want to make the best decision?"

Linda, thank you for your involvement.