Жительница Эвергрин отметила 100-летие, рассказав о жизни в Австрии и секрете долголетия

Hedy Anderson has lived through 100 years of world history. The Life Care Center of Evergreen resident celebrated her 100th birthday on Sept. 1 at a party with friends. She sang and listened to songs, ate birthday cake and talked about her secret to such a long life. It’s simple: keep both your mind and body moving. Anderson, who is fluent in both English and German, exercises six days a week, and she loves being with people, said Sandy Hill with Life Care Center.  “She is delightful,” Hill said. “She loves people and music, and she plays bingo three times a week. She likes to reminisce about the good and bad times in her life.” Anderson said conversing with people keeps her mind sharp, and it’s important to “shake it,” demonstrating by wiggling in her chair. A crowd of well-wishers gathered in a meeting room to listen to music by Dave Miller, who led the group in such standards as “Roll Out the Barrel,” “Edelweiss” and “Danke Schoen.” The former Hedy Aisenhofer was born in 1926 in Graz, Austria, the third of seven children. She distinctly remembers the Germans invading her country when she was 12. She said it was a tough time for her family, and she attended school even as bombs fell in Graz.  After graduation, she moved to Augsburg, Germany, and worked in a hospital kitchen where she met her first husband. They moved to Chicago in 1954 and divorced soon after. She remarried. They moved to Texas, where she learned difficult lessons about segregation. She said when she first saw a “colored” drinking fountain, she expected the water to be a different color than traditional water. She soon learned it wasn’t. Her daughter liked riding in the back of a school bus because she liked to look out the large windows, but that wasn’t allowed. So she had to sit in the front of the bus, Anderson said. The family eventually moved to St. Louis and eventually back to the Chicago area. Anderson worked in a church rectory and in an information booth in a mall, retiring at age 81. Anderson has two children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She lost contact with many of her siblings, most of them moving to Canada.  “It was a hard life,” she said.  On the day after her birthday, Anderson had more cake with three friends, and they talked about meeting her at the Seniors Resource Center in the Yellow House in Evergreen where Anderson was a regular. Her friends agreed they enjoy knowing her. Margie Whitford said she enjoys hearing Anderson’s stories about Austria. JoAnne Soley and Havens Guenther called Anderson an inspiration.  “It’s wonderful to have her in my life,” said Guenther, who lives in Bailey. “It’s a long trip to get here, but she is worth it. She is awesome, and I aspire to be like her.”