By Crackie, 100 Years Old!

Aunt Helen Turns 100!

Yesterday my aunt turned 100. She's been living at the local medical care facility for almost 10 years now, and loving it! Lucid at 100, she's down there in the dining room for all the parties, all the concerts, the "make it, take it" craft projects, and everything else going on there. She doesn't get out of the building, but lots of visitors come visit every week.

<Helen grew up here in Manistee. Her mother Albertina died at Helen's birth, and she was first raised by her father's family until, at the age of 3, Helen's father married my grandmother, Mary. Helen and Mary "Ma" were very close and she never considered her anything but her real mother. One reminiscence she once related to me, growing up in this immigrant town, was being carried down the street on her dad's shoulders and listening to her father speak to others in various languages, as they walked across the bridge back to their home on the Northside. A story the family told on her was how she loved home made anchovies as a little girl. One day she crept into the basement where Pa kept the bait, and ate the whole pail of them, thinking they were said anchovies.

As a young woman, she worked at the print shop where her father was the typesetter. When she married Uncle Alfred, they moved down to Detroit, where he was with the Detroit City Mounted Police, and Aunt Helen was busy raising their son Jack. A mother who didn't seem to let things bother her, she had to cope with a child who kept a few snakes in the suitcase under his bed, took the pet rat to school in his pocket, and littered the house with all sorts of electronic equipment. She was good-natured about it and laughed as she told of those adventures. </font>

<Aunt Helen was the consummate fisherman. At the cottage on Chief Lake, she was game for fishing early in the morning or late at night. Pike, bluegill, bass; trolling, casting, still fishing--she did it all. She also loved to go deer hunting and usually was the only woman in the gang that went out to Hopper's Swamp opening day. (a holiday here in our region)

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<Aunt Helen was into arts . She was a self taught watercolorist. Everyone in the family has one of her paintings, which are lovely. Poppies were her favorite flower to paint, and she did several versions of that. She also played the piano wonderfully. She had taught herself and entertained all of us in her younger years. One year she just gave the piano away and never played again.

<As a young bride, my husband and I lived in our family cottage for the summer, before returning to school. Aunt Helen and Uncle Alfred were at their cottage for the summer too. Every night after work we would eat a quick supper, go fishing with them for a little while and finish off the evening with a couple games of pinochle. Of course the girls (Aunt Helen and me) always won!

<Helen has always been a animated adventurous person. Today at the birthday, she carried on a lively conversation with all her son, grandchildren, great and geat-great grandchildren. Everyone who could be gotten out of bed and wheeled down, was there for the birthday dinner. As I played Tennessee Waltz and Goodnight Irene on my accordion, she stopped talking and eating, beat time to the music and sang all the words.