Lorena was
born June 13th, 1909 in Dunkirk, New York. She was an only child and
her parents were very protective of her. She shared with me that she was not
even allowed to ride a bicycle as they felt it was too dangerous. When Lorena
was about 4 years old, she went to visit her friend. She saw a nub of a pencil
on a table and decided to take it (without asking). When Lorena went home, and
her mother saw what she had done, she make Lorena go back and return the
pencil. Her friend’s mother chuckled when she confessed what she had done. She
told her she could keep the pencil. Lorena shared with me after that day (103
years ago) she never took anything without it being offered to her. The pencil
she now proudly owned made her feel excited about learning. In her heart, she
felt this was her first feeling of wanting to be a teacher. At the age of 19,
her dream had come true. Her annual income for the year was $1,000.00. The
following year her salary, as well as all of the other teacher’s pay, was cut
10% because of the Great Depression.
One year
Lorena and her friends had heard that Niagara Falls had frozen over. They
decided to venture there and they walked on the falls. This is one time when
Lorena can say she walked on water. The police were called so they hurried and
left the scene before they were caught. Years later, Lorena met the love of her
life, Alllie. They were married and two
years later they had a beautiful baby girl named Alicia. After teaching in
Dunkirk for 37 years, it was time to move to Florida. Cape Coral was their new
found home. The teaching bug was still in Lorena’s blood. She taught at Cape
Coral’s only elementary school for 11 years. Now it was time to retire.
However, Lorena continued to be very active in the community. One of the
proudest moments of her life was when she was the Grand Marshal in the Disney
World Parade on her 80th birthday.
Another big
celebration was about to take place in Lorena’s life. She was going to turn
100. A party was planned and many guests were invited. Lorena was concerned that
she would receive gifts she did not need. We asked the guests, if they felt
they needed to bring something, non-perishable food items or a monetary gift
would gladly be accepted. Her gifts were donated to the Cape Coral Caring
Center (our local food bank). To this day, Lorena can still tell you the amount
of food in weight and also the dollar amount that was donated. With many of the
celebrations we have been fortunate to share with Lorena here are a few more
that come to mind. Sharing that she was not allowed to ride a bicycle as a
child, I asked her “what about a motorcycle”? “Oh heavens no, my dear” was her
reply. I asked her if she was up to the challenge and she agreed to give it a
try. Rolling Thunder of Naples offered
their services for this event. They had a caravan of motorcycles lined up.
Lorena even agreed for me to apply a temporary tattoo on her arm. She was
thrilled after returning from her ride and asked about going to Tampa next
time. Many of our residents were delighted and went for rides as well. Later
that year Lorena was made an honorary member of Rolling Thunder. They presented
her with a vest and had a wonderful ceremony.
Another year
we asked our local Fire Department to come and help us celebrate her day. They
came dressed in full gear along with a fire extinguisher to help put out the
candles. She was pleased but assured them she was very capable of blowing out
all of her candles on her own. After the celebration we took Lorena out to take
photos. They asked her if she wanted to ride on the fire truck. She replied
“No, the steps were too high for me to step up to”. One fireman asked her to
put her arms around his neck (she was very pleased with that request). He
lifted her up and placed her in the front seat of the truck. She went for a
ride and when they returned the sirens and lights were on.
Her
celebration last year was a littler simpler as she requested. We invited her
favorite entertainer, Greg Miller. She shared she was flattered that he came to
her birthday party. We had students from one of our local high school help us
decorate. We blew up 106 balloons (with the assistance of a helium tank). Her
family and close friends along with our residents and staff were honored to be part
of this delightful and amazing celebration. Lorena is a kind and gentle soul.
You can bet she will always greet you with a smile. Her attitude is positive
and uplifting. We are so privileged to call her our friend.
