|
 According
to staff at the nursing home this was the first time in the history
of Vonderlieth Living Center that two people shared the same 100th
birthday. A party was held to honor both Helen Henrichsmeyer and
Doris Eckert as friends, family, residents and staff gathered to
celebrate.
VLC Activity Director, Pam McCarty, noted that both women are very
sharp and each gets around very well with the use of a walker.
Helen Henrichsmeyer
standing in foreground
Helen
Henrichsmeyer
“Helen is very active in the activity department,” said McCarty.
“She loves to fold towels everyday, two times a day, as part of the
service activity and she prides herself in being the only resident
to stand at the table while folding towels.” Helen also keeps
herself busy reading. She enjoys reading the newspaper and her mail,
especially the church bulletin, according to McCarty. “She also
plays games. She is a very active woman for the age of 100,” said
McCarty.
While folding towels on Wednesday afternoon at Vonderlieth Living
Center, Helen remarked, “I’m always doing 100 other things and
forget about this. I’ve got too many irons in the fire.”
Helen was born on January 25, 1918 near Mount Pulaski, the daughter
of William Carl and Alice Cary Goodrich Musser. Helen attended Birks
and Copeland rural schools and Mount Pulaski High School. After she
married Oscar Henrichsmeyer,
Helen said they farmed in rural Mount Pulaski, near Copeland and
Birks schools. Helen and Oscar had two children, Doris Irene and
Larry Lee. Helen lived on a farm but said she never did drive a
tractor. “I remember the horse and buggy but I didn’t have much to
do with them,” she said.
Helen prefers to shy away from interviews and publicity, but turning
100 is such a special milestone, that it even drew attention from a
local television crew forcing Helen and Doris into the spotlight.
Meanwhile, Doris is a talker, enjoys conversation and doesn’t seem
to mind the spotlight.
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column] |
Doris Eckert with
daughters Nancy Cochran (left) and Rita Scanavimo.
Doris
Eckert
McCarty also noted that Doris is very sharp and stays busy, thanks
to her family. “Doris has her family in her room most days and they
play cards and that’s how she stays active,” said McCarty.
Doris
was born on January 25, 1918 in New Holland, the daughter of Ruth
and Henry Zimmerman. Doris attended schools in New Holland and
graduated from New Holland High School in 1935.
Doris also attended Lincoln College, where she met her future
husband, Stan Eckert. Doris could not recall what Stan was studying
at Lincoln College at the time but after they were married he joined
the family business, she said. “His father owned a meat shop and a
grocery store in Lincoln,” said Doris. Stan ran Eckert’s Market with
his brother, Jim, while Doris was a homemaker. Their three children,
Rita, Nancy and Bob, all followed their mother’s early path in life
and became teachers.
Doris was well aware it was her birthday as her family had hosted a
party earlier in the week at her church. “Oh yes, I’m 100 years
old,” said Doris. How does it feel? “I feel just like I always did,”
she said. “I was born in 1918.”
When asked if she had any memories from her childhood, she answered,
“Oh yeah, lots of them. We’d run over to the neighbors because they
had a radio. We wanted to hear it and we had to put the earphones on
and all us kids would fight for the earphones. That was in New
Holland. I was born there,” said Doris.
Doris mentioned that her family didn’t have a car at first “but then
finally Dad got a Chevrolet,” she said laughing. When asked how that
first car ride was, she answered with a big grin, “Oh, it was just
wonderful.”
Doris is also a very family-oriented person and when asked about her
family she didn’t hesitate to say, “I love ‘em. I love ‘em dearly. I
think they are great. Rita broke her foot.”
Yes, as a matter of fact, her daughter, Rita, did break her foot. As
Rita was moving food and decorations into the church basement for a
party for her mom, she fell and broke her foot. Doris is in the know
about everything.
Horbert and Liz Jumg, friends of Doris are from
southwest Germany near Karlsruhe.
Flowers, balloons and cards already decorated her
room in the midst of many stuffed animals ahead of Thursday’s
celebration. A Chicago Cubs beanie baby sat among the pile and when
asked if she was a Cub fan, Doris practically yelled, “YES!” Doris
said Stan was a Cub fan and “so was my dad. Oh my, Dad was a Chicago
Cubs fan!” When asked about seeing the Cubs win a World Series in
her lifetime, she flashed another smile and said, “It was
wonderful.”
By all accounts from faculty and staff on Thursday seeing these two
lovely ladies turn 100 years old was also wonderful. There was a
buzz about the nursing home as excitement filled the building.
Balloons were even released into the sky in honor of Helen and
Doris.
Happy Birthday, ladies!
[Teena Lowery] |
