100 Years Young

FOSTORIA—Two ladies who reside at Good Shepherd home in Fostoria will celebrate their 100th birthdays next month. Emma Wickard was born on Feb. 28, 1925 in Fostoria. Joanna Borer (nee Latona) was born on Feb. 13, 1925, in Tiffin. Both women shared memories and advice from their long lives. Wickard was one of nine children, and she remembers, "I did a lot of babysitting." She grew up playing hide and seek and "olly ivy over" with her siblings at home. She played marbles with the boys in her class and wore holes in her knee-high socks. She attended Fostoria High School but never graduated, instead going to work to contribute to her family. She worked at a security vehicle company, and at Good Shepherd for 16 years. She also owned her own sewing business. She says her sewing machine is something she misses dearly. Wickard spent several years of her retirement in Ruskin, Florida with her husband Merle and his family. She returned to Fostoria and eventually chose to live at Good Shepard. Wickard's advice for a long life is "Stay active! I was never one to sit around." Some of her favorite memories include riding the Bliss Bus to Amish country with her younger sister. Today, she enjoys singing in the Swingin' and Singin' Choir and playing bingo. Something she wishes people today would do is to eat more home cooking. But, her most important piece of advice is, "Be kind to one another and help each other." Borer grew up speaking Italian with her mother on Grace Street in Tiffin. She graduated from Calvert Catholic High School in 1943. After she graduated, she spent a year living in New Jersey with her cousins. Her parents were born in Sicily and often cooked spaghetti for the kids in the neighborhood. "I grew up in a big house with a big kitchen. At Christmastime, we'd have over 20 people sitting at the table or on TV trays." Her life advice is to "always have good friends." Her favorite memories are waking up early to go exercise with her friends. Her and her friends would also go shopping or drive around together. Today, Borer enjoys reading and bowling at Good Shepherd. She was wearing shiny purple nail polish that she hoped to get redone soon. In her day, Borer worked several jobs, including for General Electric and at Webster Industries. "You used to dress up to go to work" she remembered, "and I'd meet my girlfriend at the corner and we'd walk together." She stopped working after she got pregnant with her second child. She had three children with her husband Bernard, who passed away when her oldest child was in high school. Both ladies had similar responses when asked about their upcoming birthdays: Wickard explained, "I don't feel 99 at all!" Borer said her birthday wasn't very special to her, explaining, "I really don't feel that old!"