United Methodist Homes of New Jersey Resident Mildred Nicholson Bell to Celebrate her 107th birthday on Wednesday, July 31st
Pitman, NJ (PRWEB) July 29, 2013 -- Not many of us can say we were born, educated, worked, married and raised our children in the same town. Even fewer can say that they have done it for 107 years. That is not the case for Pitman Manor assisted living resident Mildred Nicholson Bell. This sweet, gentle and inspirational great, great-grandmother was born on July 31, 1906, in a Grandview Avenue home with gas lanterns and an outhouse. Years later they installed electricity and indoor plumbing in the house, which still stands in the small borough of Pitman, located in Gloucester County, New Jersey. Mildred Bell will proudly tell everyone she meets that she is a ‘Pitmannite’ through and through.
Most of Bell’s life has been dedicated to volunteering and taking care of her immediate family and other people. In 1918, Mildred worked as a scooper in an ice cream shop on the boardwalk. Her brothers and cousins worked at the bowling alley clearing the lanes and resetting the pins. She remembers Pitman when it had its own blacksmith shop and railroad station. Mildred experienced what so many Pitman residents are only able to see in old photographs—Alcyon Lake Park. It was built in the 1890s and first consisted of a boardwalk, bath house, bowling alleys, toboggan ride, merry-go-round, roller rink, and a half-mile dirt racetrack. The renowned Pitman Theater and a restaurant were added in the early 1900s.
She commuted on the train every day to attend Glassboro High School because there was no high school in Pitman at that time. Mildred graduated in 1925 and the following year became the only secretary for the several Pitman grammar schools. As a stipulation of employment, all personnel had to be single. When you married, you had to leave. She worked there for several years and left when she married Ralph Bell, and later had a son and a daughter. Throughout 64 wonderful years of marriage they also traveled.
“Mildred is a very special lady to the associates and residents of Pitman Manor. At 107 and still going strong she serves as a role model for all of us. Despite outliving both of her children, she has never lost her positive outlook on life. Over the years she has sent many heartfelt sympathy and get well cards to Pitman Manor associates at their time of need,” said Pam Mezis, Pitman Manor’s director of marketing.
Recently, Joan Smith, the Most Worthy Grand Matron of New Jersey’s Order of the Eastern Star, presented Mildred Bell with her Golden Token, a 85 years of service pin – the first of its kind in New Jersey and most likely within the entire Eastern Star organization. “I joined the Order of the Eastern Star Pitman Chapter #57 in 1929 after my husband Ralph became a member of the local Masons. Over the years Ralph and I served in many capacities and we enjoyed attending the meetings and functions. I was very happy that the Order remembered me and took the time make a special pin that reflects my 85 years of service,” said Bell who proudly wears her pin for all to see.
This year Pitman Manor associates decided to go all out in celebrating Bell’s 107th birthday with a festive party in the auditorium where everyone is invited to celebrate Bell’s big day with cake, sparkling cider, hors d'oeuvres, balloons and a special PowerPoint presentation of her life. Merritt’s House of Flowers (where Mildred worked in the mid-1930s) is generously donating a beautiful corsage and the Pitman Town Council will once again declare July 31st Mildred Bell Day.
Everyone at Pitman Manor, her home since 2004, agrees that Bell is one of the most cheerful people they have met and that she cherishes every day. Besides participating in the activities offered there, her hobbies include crocheting, knitting, playing cards and traveling.
Jan Carrato, The United Methodist Homes Of New Jersey, 732-922-9802 2124, [email protected]
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