Adeline (Faehling) Beggs says she has been blessed with good health for the past 100 years.
Beggs recently celebrated her 100th birthday with a family gathering at the Angelus Retirement Community, where she has resided for a little more than a year, in Clintonville.
“I don’t know why I lived this long. I have not had a very exciting life, but it has been good,” Beggs said. “I have been blessed with good health, nothing serious, and the good Lord has been kind to me, and I always took good care of myself.”
She was born Jan. 29, 1914, on a farm near Big Falls. Her folks later moved to a farm near Tigerton, and that’s where she grew up. She graduated from Tigerton High School after attending a country school.
“I always wanted to be a school teacher, but of course there was no money at that time to go to college,” Beggs said.
She worked at Lehman’s Grocery in Tigerton and did various other jobs. At age 21 she married Howard Beggs. They moved to Clintonville, built a home on Modoc Street and raised four children: sons Jack (Sandy) and Jim (Lynn), of Clintonville, and daughters Marilyn Mayhew (deceased) and Sue Gordon, of Grafton.
“My son Jack lives in the house,” Beggs said. “He always said that when I got old he would like the house, I should not sell it to anyone else. We had good neighbors.”
Howard, who died at age 80 after a bout with cancer, worked at FWD.
“He was a first-class machinist,” Beggs said. “There wasn’t a machine there that he couldn’t operate.”
Beggs said she and her husband enjoyed a busy life.
“We always had two gardens, his and mine. I had 40 rose bushes. We would mulch them with straw and clippings,” Beggs said.
“I was always a busy housewife with sewing, cleaning, cooking and baking,” Beggs added. “I did work at the Montgomery Ward order store and also at Sears for a while.”
She also enjoyed crocheting and embroidering. A large framed embroidered picture hangs on her living room wall. She said it took her two years to complete.
Beggs remains a loyal fan of the Green Bay Packers. She admitted that she used to know the names of all the players but no longer does.
Beggs said she enjoys living and Angelus and the company that visits. Her family stops often and she enjoys the visits from her pastors at St. Martin Lutheran Church.
“This is an excellent place to live out the last years,” she said. “It is a lovely place to live. If you need help all you have to do is whistle.”
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