The Matriarch
June 04, 2020
I just watched a YouTube video of an interview with my Aunt Ruth when she was 101. (She lived to 104.) She was the widow of my mother’s brother, and the matriarch of a large family. (My mother was one of six children.)
Mother and I spent several summers in her home in Buffalo, New York while my father was on the road for work and my brother was away at camp, so I knew her family quite well. I loved spending time with my three male cousins, two, four, and six years younger than me.
In the interview, Aunt Ruth tells us that in 1935 she was a buyer in the coat department of The May Company in Denver where she grew up. When her employer asked for volunteers to look into whether the company’s buyers should fly to New York or continue taking the train, she volunteered.
She described the plane with its bench-like seats arranged along its sides. When they were about to take off, her colleague worried about how close they were to another plane on the runway. Aunt Ruth had to explain that that was the light at the end of their own plane’s wing.
She was beloved by so many and I still miss her.
Oh, how interesting! I've been a reader of your blog for quite awhile and remember you writing about Aunt Ruth. What a special lady. I'm fascinated by people who live to be over 100. Actually, since the people in my own family tend to pass on in their 60s and 70s, I'm fascinated by anyone who lives beyond that, even more so those who are very mentally alert and have interesting stories to tell. That is why I love your blog! I'm 65 myself, but aspire to be around for quite awhile yet, and to remain young in heart and head, if not in body.
Is the video of Aunt Ruth for family only? Would love to see and hear her.
Keep writing your blog, please, and thank you!
Becky in Los Angeles
Posted by: Becky Dahl-Randle | June 06, 2020 at 10:01 PM