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 This year there were five such celebrants,
including one new member added since last year’s observation. The
youngest girl in the bunch was Gertrude Leesman who turned 100 on
July 12th of last year. The oldest lady was Hilma Theobald, who
celebrated her 105th birthday on August 6th of last year.
The remaining three ladies in the group all shared the age of 102
with Florence Williamson celebrating her birthday recently on
January 31st; Fernola Gamble, who was 102 in November; and Esther
Will, who will actually celebrate her 102nd next week on the 12th of
February.
The five ladies were joined by friends and family for a special
luncheon served in the activity room of the St. Clara’s on Fifth
Street. This may have very well been the last special event to be
held at the old manor as staff and residents are all prepared to
move into the new facility on the west side of town in the very near
future.
A lunch consisting of chicken or ham salad sandwiches, pickled
beets, tossed salad with extra topping, and chips was served to all
guests after activity director Rebecca Johnson offered the opening
prayer.
Johnson and her staff including Marie Parr, Linda Bree, and Becky
Kleinman served the guests. After everyone had enjoyed their meal,
dessert was served that included apple crumb pie with vanilla ice
cream.
As part of the fun for the day everyone was invited to play a round
of “Life Experience Bingo.” To get an “X” on the bingo card, each
person had to reveal that they had in their lifetime performed a
certain task. Then at the end of the game, Johnson called on a few
of them to prove their claim.
Activities on the bingo card included things such as riding a bike,
playing a musical instrument, milking a cow, knowing five Bible
verses, having a picture in the newspaper, shaking hands with
someone famous, patting the head while rubbing the stomach at the
same time, and of course being 100 years old or older.
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Several in the room, including the guests could lay claim to a
number of these activities, while only the special guests were able to claim the
center spot of being 100 or more years old. In the room though, there was only
one true ‘bingo” and that was claimed by Esther Will.
Johnson shared some moments in history based on the year each of
the five ladies was born. Hilma Theobald at 105 years of age was born in 1912,
the year of the Titanic that sank on its maiden launch. For motorcycle
enthusiasts, the Indian Motorcycle came about that year, and it sold for a mere
$35. Today, a mint condition all original Indian would sell for about $35,000.
In that year a visit to the dentist cost between 50 cents and a dollar, a
restaurant meal ran about 30 cents, and the life expectancy of men was 49 years
old, while women lived to the ripe old age of 54.
Four of the ladies were born in the 1915-16 time-frame. During that time, a
Sears home kit could be purchased for $600 and a postage stamp costs two cents.
It was also in this time period that Lincoln Logs came on the market, a new
favorite toy for many children. Johnson shared that those logs, which were
enormously popular then and still desirable today, were the invention of John W.
Wright, the son of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
In 1917, when Gertrude Leesman was born, Woodrow Wilson was President of the
United States. The U.S. declared war on Germany and the patriotic character
Uncle Sam came to life in his “I Want You” posted recruiting young men to join
the armed forces for the defense of their country in World War I.
After a time of sharing and chatting about their personal histories, Johnson
drew the day to a close with a departing prayer. As an added treat, Marvin Roos,
who was a guest of Fernola Gamble pulled out his harmonica and played a couple
tunes for the ladies and their guests as they all prepared to part for the day.
[Nila Smith]
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