104-year-old Ivy loves to Twitter

By HARRY HAYDON
The Sun UK
Published: 15 May 2009
Photo: Bob Collier/PA Wire

Silver surfer Ivy Bean has become the oldest UK user of Twitter - at 103. The great gran decided to join the social networking site after getting bored with Facebook, where she had built up 4,800 friends. She proudly told her web readers yesterday: "I'm enjoying Twitter and having my photo taken - and I'm looking forward to Deal Or No Deal."

Ex-mill worker Ivy got a helping hand to smooth her switch to Twitter by calling in IT experts The Geek Squad. Boss Martin Dix said: "It's brilliant to help someone as inspirational as Ivy to get started and teach her about Twitter. She's already signed up to Facebook with 4,800 friends. She shows others that you shouldn't be frightened of technology."

Ivy's enthusiasm is spreading among her friends at Hillside Manor care home in Bradford, West Yorks. Manager Pat Wright said: "All the residents are taking a leaf out of her book. Four signed up for computer college. Others have joined Facebook or surf the net and enjoy themselves with ten-pin bowling on the games console."

Twitter membership figures are soaring, thanks to its popularity with celebrities such as US President Barack Obama, singer Britney Spears and TV star Stephen Fry. It appeals to youngsters because its snappy instant message system can spread idle chit-chat among a worldwide audience. But recent figures showed that people aged 45 to 54 are the site's leading users.

The Geek Squad has dubbed today Silver Surfers' Day. It aims to use it to encourage more elderly people to get online and start connecting with friends and family around the globe.

Blame it on Ivy!

We haven’t posted in a while, but we’re now on Facebook and most recently Twitter! I connected with Ivy via e-mail when I discovered her on Facebook and we enjoyed several conversations. I think it’s wonderful for this spunky centenarian to embrace today’s technology and certainly an inspiration for others. Then, Ivy said she was trying Twitter – AND she now has 18,000 followers (when I last checked) – that’s more than many Hollywood celebs! Go Ivy! So I then decided that if Ivy’s doing it and has attracted so much attention that perhaps people would be interested in learning about other centenarians, particularly in the U.S. So I decided to join the Twitterverse.

Coincidently, a Boomer group I belong to was offering classes in Twitter and some other social networking sites, so I signed up for them. But Twitter really caught my attention (and interestingly, in the article, Ivy says she prefers it to Facebook). So I started a Twitter page, which for tech-challenged me was no small feat, and spent one entire week – no kidding – totally absorbed; in fact, one Sat. night I stayed up until 7:00 am, learning by reading other sites to see the kinds of posts. Then came the ultimate challenge for me – the 140 characters – THAT took a lot of skill. I still haven’t figured out how to post the links to articles, etc. (it was only a beginners’ class that I took), but will get to it. And then, I started getting a few followers and making connections. It’s still in it’s infancy – well, maybe gestation – but at least we’re there!

Click to follow us on

Now I’m trying to get Elsa Hoffman interested, but she says she’s too busy with her real life social life for cyberspace. It’s not for everyone, but for Ivy and me, we’re loving it! It’s fun.

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Garnett Beckman turns 102 – Still on top of her game!

Bridge, that is. Avid bridge player, as well as hiker (see blog post for March 26th), Garnett Beckman (pictured at left with Lynn) celebrated her 102 birthday on April 23rd at the senior center where she plays duplicate bridge every Tuesday night. The large community center room was packed with her friends and admirers – as well as competitors at the bridge table. “Garnett is a serious player,” one of them remarked. “She’s very competitive.”

Garnett also teaches bridge, informally, in her apartment where she has a permanent table set up, to those of us who never took the time to learn. She invited me to join the Friday morning group, all about my age – her neighbor, a lawyer, a photo/journalist and now me. The last time I had cards in my hand was when my Grandmother used to play Old Maid and Go Fish with me whenever I was sick with some childhood malady – and she would let me win.

Garnet is serious, all right, but she’s also very intelligent and knows just how to initiate someone like me with no skills to the game, and her other “students” were very helpful. I’m sure my first lesson was boring for them all. Eventually, I gave up and just let Garnett play my hand – I think that was after I splattered the deck of cards, trying to learn to shuffle them.

Garnett – true to her spirit – has not given up on me. Early one morning she called to tell me that there was an article on the front page of The New York Times about the benefits of playing bridge as one ages, and featuring an almost-centenarian. It was titled “At the Bridge Table, Clues to a Lucid Old Age” and that I’d better read it, adding: “So I’ll see you next Friday morning. It’s for your own good” “You bet,” I answered. She shot right back: “No, we don’t play for money.”

Garnett is one of many extraordinary centenarians that appear on our site, and she is inspiration enough all on her own and a wonderful role model for so much of what’s good about living long and aging well. She’s a good and caring friend. And a heck of a good bridge player and teacher!

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Happy Mother's Day!

Photos l-r: 1.) Mary, Lynn's grandmother (here about age 16), was the inspiration for her work in the field of aging. 2.) Evelyn, Lynn's mother (here, age 17), always wanted to be a mother. 3.) New mother - Lynn's mom, Evelyn. She's pictured here with Lynn on her lap.

My mom's goal in life was to be a mother - she often said it was all she had ever wanted since she was a child. Thanks to me, she got to celebrate her first Mother's Day, and then went on to have a beautiful baby boy, who tragically only lived for three-and-a-half years. Then a miracle: she became the mother of twin sons when she was almost 40! God's blessing.

As my "best volunteer" throughout my years of work with centenarians, she was commonly known as "Lynn's Mom," which she enjoyed, and that said it all.

We wish a very Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers - and, yes, some great great grandmothers - everywhere! And I offer this message: Treasure your mother. Though she may drive you nuts sometimes, she is one-of-a-kind, a unique gift to be cherished - always. And the older you become, the more you will find this true.

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“Play Ball” ... It’s Music to Leo Baley’s Ears

“I like (to watch) basketball,” remarks centenarian Leo Baley, “but baseball’s my game, has been since I was a kid.” Leo (pictured at left) still has his first glove, which he keeps among his baseball memorabilia. It was very well used during his high school and college years. “Look at the difference between then and today, in the design,” he marvels. In law school, though, Leo had to give up the sport. “I was married at the time, working during the day and going to school at night; at my wife’s urging, I didn’t have time left for sports.” Leo describes himself as having been a “country lawyer,” but he spent part of his career working for the state of Wisconsin. “I retired as soon as I could, and my wife, who was a nurse, and I enjoyed life. We took cruises and one year drove up the Alaskan highway.”

Leo is still enjoying his retirement years, complete with a little baseball participation. For his 100th birthday last July 8th, he got to throw out the first ball at an Arizona Diamondback’s home game. He also got to meet some of the players and Joe Gargiola, Sr., pictured with Leo at the left. “That was a real thrill,” he tells. Is he looking forward to a repeat performance this year? “I doubt it,” Leo says with a smile. “That’s a once-in-a lifetime experience. But I’m glad the season’s started so I can watch the games on TV!” Leo has been a life-long Milwaukee Brewers fan; now residing in Arizona, he counts himself as one of the thousands of Arizona Diamondbacks fans.

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“Unsung Hero” – WWI Vet, Andrew E. Rasch

The predominant themes to Andy Rasch’s long life are his service to his country, concern for others and his desire for independence. At age 107, he remarkably continues to maintain all three. Andy, pictured at left, shows memorabilia from his military service.

Andy and his sister were orphaned before the age of 5 and placed in an orphanage in the Midwest where they were abused and neglected, “horribly,” Andy recalls. The memories of those years and of his mother’s tragic death in a train accident bring tears to his eyes. At the age of 16, Andy ran away, promising his sister he would return for her as soon as he could. Andy joined the Navy and has the documentation to prove it. He served aboard the USS Oklahoma battleship (pictured below) during WWI, and he has an array of ribbons for bravery and a flag from that era.

“They didn’t give medals – they gave ribbons, he recalls.” He points out the heavy fabric of the flag and the predominant white stitching at the edges: “They don’t sew flags with this type of stitching anymore,” he explains. Andy’s story about his WWI service was broadcast by a local TV station in 2006. The station verified his service with the Veterans Administration. Andy continues, talking in more detail about how he went into a burning section of the ship and rescued four men: “I kept going back in and pulling them out,” he says, “there was fire all around.”

Andy's story continues on our website: http://www.adlercentenarians.org

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Garnett Beckman – “Take a Hike”

Mid-western Garnett Beckman, 101, had always dreamed of hiking the Grand Canyon. When her son and his family moved to Arizona she had the opportunity to visit and left Phoenix one day for a tour of the Grand Canyon, she told her family. When she arrived, the spunky grandmother – barely 5 feet tall and weighing 96 pounds - did indeed hike down the Canyon.

“I thought that when you got to the bottom you just turned around and hiked back up,” she recalls. But when she reached the floor of the Canyon she realized that other hikers were spending the night, and so she made her way to Phantom Ranch, where she enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow hikers at the ranch-style communal dinner and slept in a bunkhouse. “Early the next morning, I set out to make the hike back up,” she tells, and then I drove back to my son’s house.

What she had neglected to tell him was that she had made the trip solo – not with a group or a guide. “He had a fit,” she says with a mischievous laugh. Garnett was 75 years old at the time.

Since then, she has hiked the Canyon 22 times, twice more by herself, and the last time at age 95! Now she contents herself with daily walks of a mile or more, often with her younger friends – or alone if need be – and holds weekly bridge lessons for those of us unskilled in the popular card game. “I have people of all ages show up – everyone should learn to play bridge, she advises. It keeps your mind sharp.”

So does exercise, new research is showing – Garnett has come by this wisdom naturally, and is reaping the rewards in the enjoyment of life.


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Good Health and Aging

If you were in his presence, visiting with him, hearing one of his lectures on health and nutrition, or joining him for a brisk mile or two walk, you would think he’s a man of about 77. You would be off by 30 years.

At 107, Bernardo LaPallo (pictured) is a vibrant, articulate, inspirational centenarian and the author of “Age Less/Live More: Achieving Health and Vitality at 107 and Beyond.” In this slim volume, he passes on the wisdom he learned from his father, a physician, who set him on his course in life that has lead to both longevity and a very high quality of good health. And while it’s true that both of his parents lived long, Bernardo cautions against complacency – “Good genes can only take you so far,” he says confidently. “You also have to take good care of your health; that’s your responsibility.”

Born in Brazil, he grew up in New York City, has traveled widely, and lives independently with his wife of 50 years. He is working on his second book, which will be much larger, he explains, and will detail the nutrition plan he has followed from childhood, which obviously has served him well.

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Happy 103rd Birthday to our dear friend Rosie Ross!

On February 19th, Leonard "Rosie" Ross celebrates his 103rd birthday. Rosie, who has played the trumpet professionally since 1923, has appeared in print ads, a TV commercial for a financial company and was one of the "Fab Five" interviewed by Barbara Walters on her ABC TV special "Live to be 150," which aired in April of 2008 ... all of these endeavors happed after Rosie turned 100!

Says Rosie: “As long as people want to hear Clyde McCoy's Sugar Blues, I’ll live to play it for them!”

Read more about Rosie Ross on our website: http://www.adlercentenarians.org/.

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Happy 100th Birthday to our Valentine's Birthday Gals!

Madie Thomas celebrates becoming a centenarian on February 13th. According to her grandson, Greg, Madie concentrates on staying healthy, enjoys tending to her garden and loves to read the Bible. Happy 100th Birthday, Madie!




Doris “Dodie” Haynes turns 100 on February 15th. A born lover of music, Dodie says music was always a family affair in her childhood home with everyone playing an instrument - piano and drums to the saxophone, violin and banjo. Dodie was an avid golfer and today enjoys weekly bridge games.


Do you know a centenarian whose birthday is February 14th? If so, please let us know. Register your centenarian on our website and be sure to recognize your centenarian with a special National Centenarian Awareness Project certificate. Click this link for details: http://www.adlercentenarians.org/ncap_centenarian_recognition.htm

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104-year-old bringing perspective to swearing-in

M.R. Kropko, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ella Mae Johnson hasn't just followed American history, she's lived it.

The 104-year-old woman from Cleveland plans to be in the District for one of the world's most anticipated moments: the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Mrs. Johnson, who is black and a former social worker, says she'll be here in her wheelchair no matter the weather, to see the country's first black president sworn into office.

"I admire him," she said last week from her home at a retirement and assisted-care facility.

This will be the first inauguration for Mrs. Johnson, a graduate of Nashville's Fisk University in 1925 who earned a master's degree at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) School of Applied Social Sciences in 1928.

She admires Mr. Obama, a Democrat, for having a message that goes deeper than just setting an example of what blacks in the United States can accomplish.

But she is more impressed with his young family, his willingness to show affection to his wife, Michelle, his daughters and his roots to Kenya.

"This affects young people in a way that's different," said Mrs. Johnson, who on Jan. 13 will be 105. "I think it's good for us all. He's leading the country in the direction of taking care of each other." ...
(excerpt, click for complete article: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/29/104-year-old-bringing-perspective-to-swearing-in/)
Photo: The Washington Times


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Happy Birthday Harry Adler!

Today, January 5th, we wish our centenarian friend Harry Adler Happy Birthday! It is his 102nd birthday. Born and raised in the Bronx, Harry, a retired postal worker, now lives independently in Florida, close to his family. They are close-knit and devoted to Harry. Pictured at left is (l-r) Harry, his son Alan, Alan’s wife Arlene and Harry’s granddaughter Michele. Harry and Michele have a standing dinner date once a week. Says Michele of her grandpa: “He’s a very special man.”

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Happy 103rd Birthday, Edna!

Edna Anderson, a 17-year resident of a Phoenix, Arizona, senior living community, celebrates her 103rd birthday December 24th. Edna was born on Christmas Eve in 1905, the same year American short-story writer O. Henry wrote “The Gift of the Magi.”

Edna is an active centenarian. She participates in her community’s social programs, which include bridge games and dances; does volunteer work and attends church every Sunday.

When Edna turn 100, in 2005, she was asked: "Is it is better to be old and wise, or young and carefree?” She replied: “Better to be older and carefree would be my preference ... Good health is the most important thing. Getting old is great. I don’t see as well, but since I don’t need a cane or walker I feel more like 75 or 80."

Happy 103rd Birthday to our inspirational Edna Anderson!

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A Coincidental Cruise

How fun is this?! A little while back I was speaking with Elsa Hoffmann, our celebrity centenarian from the “Living to be 150” Barbara Walters’ special that aired last spring. To celebrate her 101st birthday, Elsa and her daughter Joan had booked a Caribbean cruise.

A few days later I talked with our centenarian friend John Donnelly, who also reached his 101st birthday this year. To celebrate John and Marian (John’s wife) had also booked a Caribbean cruise. I asked about their cruise dates and the name of the ship. Turns out the Donnellys and Elsa and Joan were sailing the same days on the same ship! What a happy coincidence!

John Donnelly was schedule to be at the taping of the Barbara Walters special toward the end of 2007 in New York, but, unfortunately, became ill and had to cancel. John and Elsa, both National Centenarian Awareness Project special friends, never met. On the cruise the Donnellys located Elsa and Joan and all enjoyed their time together.

Pictured from left to right: Joan (Elsa's daughter), Marian & John Donnelly, and Elsa

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Happy Anniversary to Will & Lois Clark!

Will and Lois Clark reached another milestone together on November 12th: Each has crossed the Century mark and now the couple has celebrated 75 happy years together!

Congratulations!

The Clarks were featured on our Centenarian Calendar in July. To read more about this fascinating couple on our website, click here.


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Last known World War I veteran, 107, campaigns for memorial

By Dave Montgomery / McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — More than nine decades after driving ambulances on the battlefields of Europe, 107-year-old Frank Woodruff Buckles is the nation's last known survivor of World War I. Now he's also become the face of an ambitious campaign to erect a national memorial honoring the 4.6 million Americans who endured "the war to end all wars.''

...Buckles was born in 1901 in Harrison County, Mo. He lied about his age to enlist, telling a skeptical recruiter that Missouri didn't keep birth records when he was born. He was dispatched to England, then France, where he served as an ambulance driver. After the armistice, he delivered German POWs back to their home country.

Buckles spent the next 20 years as a merchant seaman before he was entangled in another world war. He was working in the Philippines in 1941 and was captured by the Japanese shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He spent the next three and a half years in Japanese prison camps.

After World War II, he returned to the United States, married and settled down on a 33-acre West Virginia farm, where he still lives. His wife died in 1999.

Buckles said World War I faded from his memory as he lived through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the brutal experiences of World War II prison camps and the decades of mind-boggling technological advances that have accompanied him into a second century. But he said he'd started recalling many of his World War I days now that he'd been asked to participate in the movement to erect a memorial. ...
(excerpt; click for full article: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/174/story/52165.html)
Photo: Pete Souza / Chicago Tribune / MCT

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Centenarians Take Active Role in Presidential Election

Ann Nixon Cooper, 106 years old, has seen presidents come and go in her lifetime and has outlived most of them. On a sunny fall morning, she left her weathered but well-kept Tudor home in Atlanta, Georgia, to vote early -- this time for Barack Obama.

The African-American centenarian remembers a time not long ago when she was barred from voting because of her race. Now she hopes to see the day that Obama is elected as the nation's first black president.

…"Even if he didn't win, I was happy for him just to be nominated," said the former socialite. "The first black president -- isn't that something, at 106 years old?"
Source/photo: CNN

For Norm Peters, exercising the right to vote never gets old. Peters, who celebrated his 103rd birthday Monday with friends and family, has voted in every presidential election since he was "Hooverized" in 1928, casting his first vote for Herbert Hoover.

"Everyone was told to Hooverize, to economize," he said. "Maybe we could use a little of that today."

…Ever the GOP man, Peters filled out his absentee ballot last week, voting in support of Republican candidate John McCain.
Source/photo: Oakland Tribune

Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country's first black presidential nominee.
Source/photo: Austin American-Statesman

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Centenarian Author Waldo McBurney Releases New Audio Book

Four years ago, Waldo McBurney penned his autobiography. So, you’re thinking, many people write autobiographies. True. But the title of Waldo’s book clues you to its content: “My First 100 Years, A Look Back From the Finish Line.”

At the time his book was published in 2004 (see our website: http://www.adlercentenarians.org/cent_spotlight_archive.htm), Waldo was 102 years old and living independently with his wife Vernice in a small community in Kansas. He had 100 colonies of bees, processed honey and walked daily from his home to his office and the post office every day. He also gardened and traveled. Today, in 2008, the same is true for Waldo, who celebrated his 106th birthday in October. And, Waldo’s book is now available as an audio book with Waldo reading his own words.

The featured photo shows Waldo autographing copies of his audio book at the audio book’s release party, which was well attended. His audio book (and book) is available at http://www.amazon.com/, where a review by a customer stated: “What a treasure! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this wonderful story! … Waldo's detailed picture of hard work on the family farm in the early 1900s, and his reverence for a wise and thrifty Mother, who could run circles around Martha Stewart, encouraged me to count my blessings and to appreciate the modern day conveniences we so take for granted …”

Congratulations on another milestone, Waldo!

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Happy 101st Birthday, Elsa!

Happy 101st Birthday to our dear friend Elsa Hoffmann, who celebrated her special day on October 11th. Here she is shown at a recent community event at her church where she and her friend Dottie (who’s in her 90s) were given the honor of being ribbon cutters at the dedication of the church’s newly constructed school building.
Elsa's sense of humor keeps improving with age! Always in good spirits she is enjoying a weekend of celebrations with family members who are joining her from several states. She is then off on another cruise to the Caribbean for two weeks, where the partying will continue. When I grow up, I want to be like Elsa!!

Read more about Elsa on our website: http://www.adlercentenarians.org/elsa_hoffmann.htm


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National Centenarians Day – September 22nd

To 100 year olds and all of those even older, we celebrate — on this day particularly — your remarkable achievements. Though this holiday is not as well known as other holidays that we celebrate with cards and gifts and such, National Centenarians Day is becoming more recognized. As our population has grown, so has the number of centenarians. In fact, as of June, 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are about 95,000 centenarians and that’s a number that is increasing steadily.

Do you know someone 100 years old or older? Take time today to wish him or her “Happy Centenarians Day!” Centenarians have had an extraordinary journey: born when Teddy Roosevelt was president, a gallon of milk was 32 cents, bread was a nickel a loaf and the cost of a postage stamp was 2 cents. Imagine all of the stories they have to tell!
Pictured: Lulu Johnston (top), Bernie Blatner, Elsa Hoffmann

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Curtis and Curran Carter, Identical Twins, Turn 100

Curtis and Curran Carter are identical twins and they turned 100 years old the end of August. They are one of this country's oldest sets of male identical twins. The Carter brothers have spent their entire lives in Indiana and have lived about a mile apart from each other since they both married in a double-ring ceremony.

Both are now widowed. Curtis was married to Frances for 65 years, Curran to Thelma for 70 years. Both men have two daughters.

"With us, togetherness would be the word," Curtis said to the Evansville Courier & Press." Before one of us thought of something and it was gone, the other had the same thought."

In addition to the predictable "good clean living and hard work," Curtis has another reason for their longevity: "It's also your attitude toward life. You have to look forward to things to keep you here."

Resource: courierpress.com

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Catching up with the Clarks, Will and Lois

Recently, I had the chance to catch up with Lois and Will Clark, our Calendar Couple for July. http://www.adlercentenarians.org/calendar08/july08_clarks.htm I wished Will a belated Happy 104th Birthday; he celebrated his 104th in late August. We had a great time, and it was also great to meet his son Terry and his wife, who were visiting from California.

Lois and Will are wonderful and have a terrific sense of humor and joie de vive. And, they are so contemporary! For instance, they still, at 104 and 101, retain their spirit of adventure that has been the hallmark of their 75 year marriage. They will often be discussing something at breakfast and decide on the spur of the moment to take a trip, either locally or afar, pack up and off they go!!


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Dorothy Kennedy Turns 100, Meets Barack Obama

Happy Birthday! to Dorothy Kennedy, who celebrated her 100th birthday on August 4th. Perhaps the highlight of her special day was meeting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at a rally in her home state of Michigan. Interestingly, Mr. Obama was celebrating his birthday that day as well. He turned 47.

Dorothy is a role model for positive aging; she loves people and loves bringing people together that do not know each other but have many things in common. Her advice for a long life: just live, don’t worry. Though she says she has had her share of life’s “challenges,” she also says that she doesn’t let them worry her.

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Lillian Elkins Celebrates Her 100th Birthday; Centenarian Twins Attend Party

Happy 100th Birthday to Lillian Elkins! Lillian, who turned 100 on August 20th, celebrated her becoming a centenarian with family and friends at her recent birthday party.

Twin centenarian sisters, Eloise Rogers and Lois Fisher (see our blog post of June 25th: “Twins turn 100 … Still Driving”) were special guests in attendance at Lillian’s 100th birthday bash.

Lillian attributes her longevity to being as independent as possible and a sensible diet. She has outlived her three sisters, two brothers and her husband, Ward Harmon Elkins, who had worked for a sugar refinery for 40 years. She had one son, Jack, who is now deceased and has one stepson, Kertis, who lives nearby.


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FBI Turns 100, Former Agent is 101

In late July, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation marked its 100th anniversary. Since its birth in 1908, the FBI has grown from a small cadre of 34 investigators to a mammoth agency of about 13,000 special agents backed by some 23,000 support personnel.

The FBI is more than just a law enforcement agency. Since the days of pursuing infamous fugitives like Bonnie and Clyde to hunting extraterrestrial beings on TV's fictional show "The X-Files," the FBI and its agents have been part of American popular culture. This was no accident. The Bureau's place in popular culture was cultivated by J. Edgar Hoover, who ran the FBI with an iron hand for nearly half of its existence.

The Bureau of Investigation was founded in 1908. But it was an obscure agency mired in political corruption until Hoover, then only 26 years old, was appointed to head it. FBI historian John Fox says Hoover set out to clean house.

"What Hoover did was, he really went wholeheartedly into reforming the Bureau and into making law enforcement in the federal government a profession rather than a political position," says Fox. "He purged the rolls of the political hacks. He set very strict standards on how investigations were to be done, how the Bureau was run. And he strove to protect it from political influence."

The word "federal" was added to the FBI's name in 1935 when the Bureau was involved in high-profile criminal investigations, such as the kidnapping of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's baby, and the pursuit of gangsters like John Dillinger. Historian John Fox says much of the legend of the FBI is rooted in that era.

"It centered around that 'G-Man' (i.e., government man) image that developed in the 1930s. And, yes, it became a very important part of how we looked at ourselves," says Fox.

Source: Voice of America
Full article: http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/2008-07-25-voa1.cfm

History of the FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/history/text.htm

Former FBI agent is one year older than his former employer.

As the FBI celebrates its centennial in 2008, former FBI agent Walter Walsh is celebrating 101 years.

Walsh was an agent when newsreels at the Saturday double feature were full of the drama, thrills and action of G-men tracking down criminals like John Dillinger, Ma Barker and the Brady Gang. He joined the FBI in 1934, just a decade after J. Edgar Hoover took the helm and the bureau began to take the same kind of shape we see today. The G-men — or government men — were behind some of the most celebrated cases of the time, and Walsh thought he could be part of that. He signed up fresh out of Rutgers Law School. "I thought to myself, this might be a good outfit to tie up with," Walsh says. "I am not trying to pin medals on myself, but the people in the FBI knew that I was very handy with firearms." Actually, he was more than just handy.

Walsh's living room is filled with shooting trophies and medals from the Marine Corps and the FBI. He said he started out shooting clothespins off his aunt's clothesline with a BB gun, something she used to yell at him about. But he was good at it — so good he ended up on the 1948 Olympic shooting team, the first Olympics after World War II. Walsh was also commander of the Marine Corps' marksmanship training for years.

Source: NPR
Full article: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92937115

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Ford Model T Celebrates 100 Years

Ford Motor Company continues celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Model T with a kick-off gathering in Indiana of about 750 collectors in late July.

The first production Model T was assembled in Detroit on Oct l, 1908, and, in the span of 19 years, would go on to build 15 million cars with the Model T engine, according to the Henry Ford Museum. This vehicle is credited with bringing about social change in America in the early years of the 20th century, providing affordable transportation to the “common man” and enabling people to move farther out from the cities thereby creating the first wave of suburban living beginning after WWI.

“There were no requirements for drivers licenses in the early days,” centenarian Miriam Krotzer reminds us. And, like Miriam, many learned to drive at the age of 12 or 13.


Recalls centenarian driver Lillian Cox: “My father had one of the first cars in town, when I was about nine, 1916. They were scarce. First the doctors could buy them and second the merchants. My father owned a grocery store on the main street of Qunicy, Florida, where I was born and bred. My sister and I were in charge of buttoning up the “cellophane” windows. They weren’t made of glass; they were more like what we now call plastic. When the weather was nice we would take them down – it was a 4 door sedan—but when it rained we had to button them all into place. It was fun. We felt very important, riding in that car! The color: why, black, of course. There were few cars in town – they caused a lot of excitement.”


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“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” Turns 100, Commemorated with Stamp

In America, baseball is called the national pastime. Organized baseball was well into its glory years before other sports such as football, basketball, hockey and soccer were drawing much of an audience. Baseball has infected the American culture with its heroes, its jargon, and its cult of personality. It is only natural that one of America's most popular sing-along songs relates to the sport.

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a simple tune that tells of a girl who wants her beau to take her to a baseball game instead of to another popular spot. The song turns 100 years old this year, and the United States Postal Service has commemorated the event with a beautiful new stamp.

The song is instantly recognizable to most of those in the U.S. In fact, the song is frequently credited as the third most popular sing-along song in America, after the national anthem and Happy Birthday.

Incredibly, the author of the song, Jack Norworth, had never been to a baseball game when he wrote the song. He was riding on the subway in New York, when he saw a sign advertising "Ballgame Today - Polo Grounds". The Polo Grounds was the name of the stadium used most notably by the New York (later San Francisco) Giants baseball team.

During the 30-minute subway ride, Norworth, an accomplished songwriter, dashed off the words to the song. Soon thereafter, he took the lyrics to composer Albert Von Tilzer who created the popular tune, which later that year, became a #1 hit.

On July 16, 2008, the United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent stamp commemorating this popular song. Drawn in the style of baseball trading cards popular during the song's early days, the stamp design captures a nostalgic essence of the song. It interweaves period typography and even shows the first 6 notes of the song on a music staff.

Reference: stampsofdistinction.com

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Centenarian's wine a much appreciated gift for another centenarian!

Had a call from a friend, who had recently traveled to Napa Valley, California. He had read about Lillian Harrison's winery on our website – Lillian was our May calendar centenarian. http://www.adlercentenarians.org/calendar08/may08_lillian.htm He stopped by Lawrence Harrison Vineyard and purchased three bottles of the Leo Joseph Estate Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and then took two of them to another centenarian we know in the region who is still living alone at 106! Amazing! Respecting the centenarian’s wish not to have her name mentioned, we can report that she very much enjoyed his gift! In fact, she attributes her remarkable good health to a glass or two of good (she had stressed “good” to me on the phone) red wine. Apparently, Lillian's wine passed the "centenarian’s taste test!" My friend also gave a bottle to her home health aid. She, too, was thrilled.

It's always so rewarding when others take an interest in centenarians – we have inspired quite a network over the years, both formal programs and individual kindnesses, such as this. I encourage all of our readers to seek out the elders in your neighborhood or community and take a bit of time to pay a visit or reach out to them in some appropriate way. It takes so little, yet means so much.


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Catching up with Elsa Hoffmann

I had a nice chat with Elsa the other afternoon and she had some interesting things to say about the hour she spent with a class children recently. Seems the children were in doubt that someone could be 100 years old! Elsa spoke to the children about her life and growing up without TV, computers and cell phones. She also brought along original newspaper pages (which to archive had been encased in protective plastic) from the day she was born. To hold the attention of kids that young for an hour without them even “wiggling” as Elsa put it, is quite an achievement. Elsa said they were very interested in everything she had to say, especially in the newspaper pages. What a good idea to bring along the newspaper pages! Elsa is really terrific.



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Centenarians on the go!

Karl Hartzell, one of the Fab Five from the Barbara Walters Special, is traveling this week to spend the Fourth of July holiday with his son, Drew, in New York State. It’s amazing to think of a centenarian (at 102!) traveling by himself, taking a car service to the airport (over an hour), getting checked in, through security, onto the plane and then make a connecting flight at a very busy airport. It’s daunting for me, in today’s chaotic travel environment, and a stressful process for most people, but Karl takes it all in stride.

I can say with certainty that today’s generation of centenarians is much more active than those of a generation ago. So many more are doing what are really extraordinary things at 100+ than just a decade ago, including travel and driving (like Karl). I knew no centenarian drivers 23 years ago and few even a decade ago. Now more are cropping up every day, such as the centenarian twins in the previous post. This increased activity bodes very well for Boomers! I think many have a bright future ahead. Just take good care of your health — as centenarians advise — that’s the key.

I hope Karl has time to work on the next section of his Memoirs this summer. His clear and concise prose is so enjoyable. I can hardly wait to read the next installment of his fruitful life. Click to read the beginning of Karl's Memoirs: http://www.adlercentenarians.org/hartzell_memoirs.htm

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Twins turn 100 ... Still driving!

We just learned of identical twins who are turning 100 on June 29 – extremely rare! AND, they are still driving! Wow, that’s a show stopper! Eloise Rogers and Lois Fisher (pictured at left) live across the street from each other, and every day one of them picks the other up and away they go – to the mall, for lunch, and other fun adventures. At age 98, Eloise’s Chevy gave out and she bought a new Honda “because it was known for its longevity.” The twins look and act years younger than their chronological age, but their driver’s licenses tell the tale: they were born the same year that the Model T Ford was introduced. Congratulations Eloise and Lois on reaching the century mark!
(Photo: courtesy of reporter Anne Hart)


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