MILL CREEK — She dragged her kid brother to a 1936 Connecticut polling place and rallied voters to re-elect U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Then 10-year-old Selma Bonham and her 6-year-old partner-in-crime were sent home with a stern reprimand.

The pair already had established themselves as activists, striking against their father, who paid them just 10 cents for yard work.

“We made signs and marched up and down the sidewalk in front of our house,” Bonham said. “We told our father that 10 cents wasn’t enough, and he eventually gave in and raised our allowances.”

Bonham, now 83, is perhaps the most recognizable character in the Mill Creek community, where she settled in 1996 to be close to her youngest grandchild.

She’s a regular fixture on local jogging paths, a civil rights advocate, a vocal critic of corporate America, an anti-war activist and — most recently — a model for Macy’s.

Bonham made her catwalk debut on Oct. 4 at the Better with Age fashion show in Seattle.

“It’s my latest adventure,” she said, laughing a few days prior to the event.

Bonham had seen an ad recruiting talent for the fashion show by way of an essay contest. Applicants submitted brief dissertations on how they’ve improved with age.

“By chance and by choice I’ve had the right parents, husband, kids and grandkids,” Bonham wrote in her essay. “My friends and family inspire me to take on new challenges … ‘Do something outrageous every day.’”

“I saw this as opportunity to do something outside of my comfort zone,” Bonham said of the competition. “I never imagined when I wrote the thing that I’d be selected to participate.”

Fashion was unfamiliar territory for Bonham, who’s spent most of her life obliterating social and professional barriers for women.

In 1946 — an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University — Bonham helped form the first honorary society for women in science.

She received her advanced degree in geology from Stanford University and worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency, compiling highly classified reports about the Soviet Union.

“During the Cold War, while the political leaders were at each other’s throats, scientists between the Soviet Union and the United States were exchanging information very freely,” Bonham said. “One of the things we looked at was the Soviet Union’s peaceful nuclear program. They used nuclear explosions to identify geological phenomena and possible drill sites for oil exploration. There were many applications besides weapons testing.”

Much of her work has only just now been declassified and published for all to see.

“It was a fascinating career,” she said. “I had to learn enough Russian so I could read the reports I was getting from the Soviet Union … I had great challenges trying to explain geology to nongeologists in the Department of Defense.”

As a government employee, though, Bonham was forced to suppress her passions as an activist. It wasn’t until retirement that she was able to publicly express her political views and participate in demonstrations around the nation.

Bonham served on the board of directors for the Gray Panthers, an advocacy group for peace and social and economic justice.

“We fought hard in the ’80s for health care reform, an issue that still has not been addressed by our government,” Bonham said. “I shook Bill Clinton’s hand and asked of him, ‘please Mr. President, consider single-payer health care.’ But he was so exhausted by that point that he just sort of smiled and rolled his eyes.”

More recently, Bonham helped lead one of the few successful battles against Wal-Mart. The retail giant nixed its plans for a store in Mill Creek.

“We went up against the biggest retailer in the world and won,” Bonham said. “It’s still so thrilling that we as a community forced them out.”

Despite her

accomplishments, Bonham is humble.

She gives most of the credit to her friends and family for supporting her these past 83 years.

“I’ve been so blessed to be surrounded by wonderful, caring people my entire life,” she said, “I have a chance now with this new adventure — this fashion show — to encourage women and show them that they can get through the tough times.”

She never thought much about fashion in the early days. But now, in her 80s, Bonham brings to the topic her own feisty brand of activism, arguing that aging women are entitled to feel vital and mature in the clothes they wear.

“Women 50 and older don’t want to dress like teens and they don’t want to look like they belong in nursing homes,” she said. “It’s good to see that the fashion industry is interested in filling that gap.”

Bonham has no plans to pursue a career in modeling.

“I helped register 28 new voters at the (Mill Creek) library’s fall book sale,” she said. “After age 50, 60, 70 and 80, I’ve enjoyed more freedom to choose how to spend time and energy … I think the best age is the age you are.”

Alexis Bacharach is editor of The Mill Creek Enterprise.