Mona Scott

Everyone in Cleveland remembers Mona Scott - how could you not? But there's so much more to her than we ever knew and there's a lot going on in her life now. So, here's a little of her story.

Mona was born in Montgomery Alabama October 16, 1945 the oldest of five children and the daughter of a minister. She moved often while she was growing up with homes in places such as Panama City, Miami, Chicago, Michigan, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Her parents always made sure the moves were exciting for the children - new experiences, new friends, new homes.

Between the seven of them and the extended family they encountered from Church, there was never a time to feel lonely. Mona never felt uprooted but rather lucky to have the many experiences that a new location brought.

After the birth of her children, Mona became involved in children's television, hosting a Sunday morning show for pre-schoolers. She continued to work in children's programming at two stations and eventually became the weathercaster and host of family shows at yet another station in town.

After just over a year, Cleveland's WKYC made her an offer and she came to Cleveland to become the first woman to do the weather on weeknights. The family moved to Rocky River.

Unfortunately it was not a good time for Mona. Her contract was not going to be renewed by WKYC because of poor ratings and her marriage of ten years had dissolved. Her children, however, were "the sunshine in it".

Mona Scott with her sisters

Mona's preference was always for reporting feature stories rather than anchoring hard news. She co-hosted Sunday Magazine with Tom Haley and hosted Live, "a magazine show full of features. Weatherman Al Roker would usually be live somewhere around town."

She has fond memories of Cleveland and especially of Lake Erie. "(She) was fortunate enough to live on it a couple of times." They had a cottage in Bay Village and later a high rise condo. "Watching the sky change with seasons was a joy."

One of Mona's passions is good food. And she loved the "ethnic diversity" of Cleveland's restaurants. She remembers her children's babysitter who introduced them to both polenta and pierogi.

Mona left television in 1990, and at the same time her marriage to Doug Adair ended. Her children were now in college and she moved to Ravenna to live with one of her sisters.

Mona took a year off for herself - out of the public eye. She re-grouped and moved to Jacksonville, Florida near her mother.

She spent about a year teaching English as a second language. A new morning newscast was starting up in Orlando, and Mona was hired as a co-anchor.

One of her favorite pastimes is attending movie matinees and that is how she met her husband, Mike James, another movie enthusiast. They were married in 1996. They returned to Columbus where she took an early morning anchor and feature-reporting job.

Mona Scott and husband Mike

Mike has a newsletter, The Daily News Bluezette, which is a subscription-based publication of NewsBlues.Com. It is for television professionals, giving them an inside look into what's going on in the business. Mona, under the name Mrs. Bluezette (or Mrs. B for short) writes a grammar column for the newsletter.

She has also written a book, which is a compilation of approximately 200 of her columns. The book, Mrs. Bluezette's Grammar Guide, is available on the website.

Mona Scott with horses in Ocala

Mona loves to go for early morning walks with her husband, watch sunsets and give tours of the old Cracker house in the orange grove at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park near her home. She dons a 1930's housedress for the tour.

Mike is a wonderful gardener and cook and they often dine on the fresh vegetable he grows and prepares. Mona on the other hand, finds it much more fun to make the occasional pie or cake and leave the entrée to Mike.

Mona Scott with grandson Drew

She is in constant contact with her mother and three sisters and every summer they have a weeklong family reunion in Florida.

She cherishes the friends she has, including an 85 year old riding instructor, an artist who sells her paintings at horse shows and too many more to enumerate. Another important part of her "family" is their dog and two cats.

Mona has no regrets about leaving television. "As I told my boss when I asked out of my five year contract after only three years, "The fire in the belly is gone."

Mona was in television for more than 20 years and has good memories of her times there. She knew staying would alter those memories because she no longer felt the enthusiasm needed to do the job well every day.

"I have no idea what the future holds for me, and isn't that exciting. I want to be surprised and plan to keep myself healthy to enjoy whatever adventures lie ahead."

Mona Scott in Orlando

Mona Scott with some friends

She hopes we'll come to Cross Creek for a tour of the Old Cracker farmhouse and maybe we should. It sounds like it's a good life with a nice lady giving the tours.