A century. That’s ten decades. One hundred years. Just to put things in perspective, 100 years ago, Teddy Roosevelt was in the White House. Fifty-five years later, Hawaii became the 50th state to join the nation.
That’s a long time if you ask me. But, if you were to ask Oxford’s own Dorothy Van Horn, I’m sure she would tell you exactly the opposite. Mrs. Van Horn celebrated her 100th birthday on May 29, 2004, but you wouldn’t have known it from talking to her.
Upon interviewing Mrs. Van Horn, I quickly learned that the information I sought for my article wasn’t going to come from her. I tried to ask her several questions. Where did you grow up? What is the best thing you’ve seen in 100 years? How do you like Oxford? I was getting discouraged with my vain attempt at an interview, until I was prompted by one partygoers to ask Mrs. Van Horn how old she was.
‘Why, I’m only seventeen!? replied the tiny, frail woman. My shocked reply: ‘Hey, me too!?
Attendees at the party tried to correct her saying, ‘Dorothy, aren’t you 100 years old today?? But the elderly woman would have nothing to do with it, reasserting that she was, in fact, a teenager.
So there, now we had something in common. Immediately, a smile spread across my face, and at the same time, I saw one creep up on hers, too.
While I sat there, wondering what on earth I could say or write about a woman almost six times my own age, the thought of 100 years gave me the chills. The idea awed and almost overwhelmed me, the amount of wisdom and experience that must have come with a century of life, until she gave it to me straight. She was 17, and there was nothing anybody could do to change her mind.
I later found out from her caregiver, Lona White, that Mrs. Van Horn had lived in Oxford for close to seven years, moving from Howell at the youthful age of 93, and that she had few friends or family outside of Oxford Colonial group home, where she lives.
According to White, members of a local 4-H club, the ‘Rabbit Club,? had volunteered to throw Mrs. Van Horn a party to honor her 100th birthday. The 17-member club has been helping out at Oxford Colonial for over four years, visiting and enjoying the company of its residents out of the goodness of their hearts.
From being in the room at Mrs. Van Horn’s party, it was clear to me that their support and companionship, though perhaps humble, was definitely not lost on the birthday girl. Surrounded by her beloved stuffed animals, party balloons, smiling faces and birthday cake, Mrs. Van Horn’s eyes were brighter than the afternoon sun. In one brief second, the aged, seen-it-all eyes of a 100-year-old woman became young again, illuminating the room as she assured me that she was not much older than myself.
Afterwards, I was no longer worried about using up the designated space for my article, rather, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to fit it all in. It was one of those moments in life that I will never forget, even if or when I reach 100 – and if I reach that milestone, I hope that I, too, can be 17 again.
Mike Stechschulte is a soon-to-be senior at Oxford High School who plans to major in the field of journalism.