One hundred years is a short period of time in respect to the 4.5 billion years the earth has been around. However, in relation to how long a single person lives upon the planet – well, it is indeed a very impressive stay!
Jerry Stringer, who is a brother to a former Snow Laker, the late Adolph Stringer, was born on July 16, 1916 in Brooksby, Saskatchewan. He celebrated his 100th birthday in the presence of family and friends at the Snow Lake Health Centre, where he is a resident, on the afternoon of Saturday, July 16.
Mr. Stringer’s younger brother Don, 80, acted as emcee for the afternoon and invited everyone to rise and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jerry as nephew Jim escorted the elder Stringer into the health centre boardroom.
Once seated, he asked Snow Lake town councillor Brenda Forsyth to rise and say a few words. Forsyth said that she was representing the Town of Snow Lake and there to bestow a certificate on behalf of Mayor Kim Stephen. She presented it to Mr. Stringer along with the community’s collective congratulations.
The mayor’s greeting was not the only felicitation received this day. There were also certificates and good cheer from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor General David Johnson, and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.
However, the one that garnered Jerry Stringer’s attention when it was announced was from someone who almost equalled him in age, Queen Elizabeth II.
Don Stringer said that this was something that his brother had looked forward to in his 100th year.
When one looks at Mr. Stringer’s age in relation to world events, it is then that the number really hits home. He was a mere babe of seven months when the Russian Revolution took place and a boy of 10 (almost 11) when Charles Lindbergh made the world’s first non-stop transatlantic flight. He was 13 when the Black Tuesday Stock Market crash sent western countries spiralling into the Great Depression, and 23 when Germany invaded Poland at the outset of World War II.
As a young man, Stringer enlisted with the Canadian Armed Forces and served as a signalman – a person responsible for sending and receiving naval or military signals – in England, Italy, France and Holland.
Another day that evokes memories in many is November 22, 1963, the day US President John Kennedy was assassinated – Stringer likely remembers it well, as he was 47 years old on that date.
Throughout his working life, Jerry Stringer had been employed as a chef for Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting in Flin Flon, and then in 1966 moved to Island Falls, where he became a radio technician in the electrical department.
At his party, once the cards had all been opened and read, a beautiful Norma Johnson cake was brought forward with 11 candles on it: one as the multiplier, and 10 to mark his decades. With two mighty breaths Mr. Stringer snuffed them all and sat as everyone once again sang to him.
Jerry rose to the occasion and voiced his thanks to the people for attending, jesting that he didn’t know if there would be many more.
Those in attendance enjoyed coffee, a piece of cake and ice cream to accompany it. The man of the hour even opted for a second helping of ice cream and a chocolate bar that friend Jackie Brew had purchased for him. His brother Don noted that Jerry’s blood pressure was excellent and cholesterol was not a problem… so an extra helping of ice cream was well deserved.
Don also noted that from the age of 18, he would send his brother a cheque in the amount of his age each year on his birthday, and Jerry would return the favour and send him one the same on his own birthday.
“Me being 20 years younger, he was making money,” the younger Stringer joked.
“I told him that I was looking forward to writing him a cheque for $100,” he added.
Amazingly, only two of the cards Jerry Stringer received from friends and family on this day were the same… which is a feat in itself when one considers how many cards would be manufactured (or purchased) for 100 year olds.
My Take on Snow Lake is published Fridays.
