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Clip of the Week: April 5, 2023
On April 5, 2023 by ElyseBefore there was Beyoncé, there was the original single lady: Old Polly Thompson, of Camberwell Workhouse, is the “oldest lady in the land,” for on Monday she celebrates the 107th anniversary of her birthday, and is still hale and hearty. A photograph of the old woman was taken the other day and forwarded to her
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Life Lessons from a Centenarian
On May 29, 2019 by ElyseAs Abner and Mary Hammond taught us last year, the early 20th century press was obsessed with stories about the elderly doing anything besides sitting in rocking chairs. That press had a field day with Electa Kennedy. Starting in 1905 with an article anticipating her 100th birthday—in four years’ time—newspapers from California and Montana to
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A New Page
On August 15, 2018 by ElyseOn January 12, 1912, Abner and Mary Hammond stepped off a ferry in San Francisco and did what courageous people have done since the dawn of time: They left their old lives behind in search of a fresh start. It wasn’t a unique story. What made them notable, according to the newspapers that covered their