December 10, 2004/Kislev 27 5765, Vol. 57, No.15
Celebrating 100
LEISAH NAMM
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 Dora Greenberg, 101, receives a plaque from Ira Shulman, Kivel executive director, welcoming her to Kivel's Centenarian Club. Photo by Leisah Namm |
Rabbi Martin Scharf, Kivel's chaplain, shared these 1904 statistics after introducing the honorees of the Phoenix nursing home.
Mildred Nelson, Kivel's oldest resident at 104 years old, was born in Nebraska and lived on a ranch until she turned 18. She then moved to Chicago and worked as a switchboard operator and danced with big bands in several ballrooms.
Katherine Bleyle, 103, grew up in Bisbee and learned how to play electric guitar in her 90s. Etta Slutsky, 103, enjoys listening to tunes from the 1940s. Mollie Gerber, 102, speaks four languages and lived in Austria until she was 18 years old.
Elizabeth Zaklukiewicz, 101, who prefers to be called "Betty," was raised on a farm in New York. Dora Greenberg, 101, plays Bingo three times a week. Alice Sutter, 100, worked with her husband milking cows on a dairy farm. Natalie Hawkins, 100, went to business college and later worked as a secretary at a state university.
Ira Shulman, Kivel executive director, presented plaques to all the new members, welcoming them to the Centenarian Club. Each new member shared her table with visiting family members. At the end of the celebration, Shulman announced that a centennial tree would be planted on the grounds of Kivel in honor of the eight residents.
Kivel is a nonprofit Jewish nursing and independent-living community that has been operating in the greater Phoenix area for more than 45 years.
Roz Goodell, a Kivel resident for more than 10 years, congratulated the new members - all women, she pointed out - and stated that she looks forward to joining the club. "I have been blessed," she told them. "I am now 97 years young, and I'm thankful for every day."