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From World War I to Twitter, Wilhelmine Glenn celebrates 100th birthday

By Nick Blank Staff Writer
Posted 5/15/19

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A local member of the Greatest Generation celebrated a major achievement last Monday with Wilhelmine Glenn’s 100th birthday.

The party at the city’s senior center was …

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From World War I to Twitter, Wilhelmine Glenn celebrates 100th birthday


Posted

KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – A local member of the Greatest Generation celebrated a major achievement last Monday with Wilhelmine Glenn’s 100th birthday.

The party at the city’s senior center was not a quiet affair – a packed room sang, ate and laughed.

Glenn was born in Ironton, Ohio in 1919, the youngest of 13 children. The girls in her family were named after princesses.

Seven months after Germany’s surrender in the First World War, the headline of the May 13, 1919 New York Times read, “Two German Envoys Start For Berlin To Consult; Ebert Declares Americans Have Been Found Wanting; Wilson firm on Fiume; Italians Are Losing Hope.”

A century later, she said it felt like any other day, though there were some jitters.

“It’s scary. This morning I was kind of nervous,” she said. “I don’t feel any different than I did yesterday.”

Working as a beautician before she retired, Glenn moved to Keystone Heights to live with her son, Mike, about 20 years ago. The world has changed immeasurably in her century of life.

“There’s not much comparison that I can think of from then and now,” Wilhelmine Glenn said.

“The covered wagons are gone now,” Mike Glenn joked.

Glenn said the occasion was special. He’s had to drop his mother off early each morning due to Keystone Heights losing its bus routes.

“I think it’s pretty interesting, I think everybody else is enjoying her birthday as much as she is. It’s a landmark,” he said.

Wilhelmine Glenn comes to the center every day, mostly painting, coloring, chair exercises or a new activity, the Zen Tangle, she learned from her friend Linda Dixon.

“The Zen Tangle is very relaxing. She loves it,” Dixon said. “I want to be like her when I get that age. Oh boy, that’s a milestone.”

LaVerne Lanier, the Keystone Heights Senior Center manager, was the master of ceremony for the afternoon. Lanier said Wilhelmine Glenn was a fixture at the center and the center wouldn’t be the same without her.

“Everybody loves her. She’s the sweetest lady you’ll ever meet,” Lanier said. “She knows no harsh words, she’s very soft spoken and kind.”