Robert & Helen Wiswell

Helen maintains a genuine interest in those around her -and a wonder and enthusiasm for life itself.

Born in October 1924 in Vaughnsville, Ohio, Helen has outlived the lifespan of those family members who have gone before her. She speculates that engaging in hard work and avoiding alcohol and cigarettes are all choices that have helped her reach this milestone. Importantly, she believes that it is best to live each day without worry about the next. Such senseless fretting takes a toll -and never changes the outcome.

Helen starts her story with a favorite recollection:

Years ago, her doctor was determined for her to deliver her fourth child early, as he was anxious to go on a scheduled vacation. To help her along, he prescribed a mixture of quinine and castor oil. Once she had taken the concoction, it worked so quickly that she delivered the baby in their driveway, in the backseat of the family’s ‘53 Plymouth. Mom and baby were then taken to the hospital for observation. When the doctor first laid eyes on the beautiful newborn, he quipped, “How’s my little Miss Plymouth?”

Siblings still tease their youngest sister about her title.

This story is just one of many that makes Helen’s journey colorful, unique, and relatable.

Helen was one of six children born to Dorothy V. and Daniel M. in Vaughnsville, a small town once known as Monterey. She is of Welsh , Scottish, and German descent.

The town where she grew up was (and still is) a closely-knit community which holds two claims to fame.

Located in southwest Putnam County, Vaughnsville boasts the county’s first grist mill.

Local lore also has the town’s doctor/minister creating and patenting the first individual wine dispenser for Protestant communion. He did so a mere thirty years before Helen’s birth. That ornate dispenser is on display at The Allen County Museum in Lima, Ohio.

The town once housed a railroad and telegraph office, a bank, a telephone office, a restaurant and grocery store (or two), and a grammar school and high school. The town’s post office has been in operation since 1848.

Dorothy and Daniel made their home on a farm not too far from the small village. In Helen’s youth, an unheated bus transported the “country kids” to and from school each day. In the sweltering heat of late spring and early fall, the occupants would stick to their seats.

Even as a child, Helen busied herself helping with various chores at home. She vividly remembers assisting her mother in preparing and serving fried chicken, homemade noodles, mashed potatoes, and apple pies to the thrashers. She remembers the men sat at long tables during harvest season, enjoying the break -and her mom’s delicious food.

Early on Helen assumed the role of cake baker, each Saturday making from-scratch chocolate and angel food cakes. She has continued to treat her loved ones to her legendary confections.

Life on the farm meant shared hard work, as parents and children alike labored in the fields and orchard, tended the livestock, slaughtered, salted and cooked the meat that was stored in crocks and sealed with lard, canned, -and stocked the smokehouse.

Helen recalls the yearly fall ritual of digging in the ground, making beds of straw, filling a burlap bag with fresh apples, and covering the bagged fruit with more straw. This process provided fresh apples to be eaten as a snack -or for use in baking.

Just as there was shared labor on the farm, there was also shared leisure. Helen smiles as she recalls pick-up games of ball -and the perennial favorite of “Ante Over” (i.e. “Annie, Annie Over the Woodshed”). Many evenings her mom played the piano as her father accompanied her on the harmonica -and the children sang along. Helen is still proud that her mother played for their Sunday church services.

Life was full and beautiful. School meant packed lunches of jelly sandwiches. A favorite meal at home was smoked tongue which her mom Dorothy sliced, expertly seasoned, and fried. Helen would help her mother churn the cream and create blocks of delicious butter. These were stamped with an elaborate design, wrapped, and sold by Dorothy door to door.

In the days before electricity and indoor plumbing, blocks of ice from the local ice house helped keep food cold in the family’s zinc-lined ice box. Catalogs served a dual purpose when visiting the outhouse, and chamber pots were put to use during bitter cold, snowstorms -and other inclement weather.

There is one aspect of time and change that continues to tug at Helen’s heart. Like many others her age, she remains tethered to a home church that no longer exists.

Vaughnsville Christian Union Church anchored her family to their faith; she recalls she was baptized by their minister in nearby Sugar Creek. Years later, relocated to nearby Columbus Grove, she and hers continued to attend that little church. Although the church is long gone, Helen need only close her eyes and she is transported back there. That church is very much alive in memory, as it, too, feels like home.

Out of high school, an independent and determined Helen took a job in Lima, Ohio. There she secured a room, worked for $5 a week at Hunter’s Drugstore, bought her own meals, rode the trolley for a dime, invested in roller skates -and fell in love.

Handsome young Gene (“Pinky”) W. walked up to the soda counter one day and announced to the pretty girl behind the counter, “I want chocolate, Dope.” Dope was the popular term for ice cream syrup, and his humorously phrased pick-up line made Helen giggle -caught her attention -and stirred her heart.

Called to serve in WWll, “Pinky” would soon leave, first serving in Germany and then acting as part of a recovery team in Japan. (Gene never spoke much of that time in his life.)

While in Japan he purchased the silk that Helen then paid ten dollars to have fashioned into a beautiful wedding gown.

After they married at her church in Vaughnsville, the newlyweds headed for Columbus, Ohio where they stayed at the Deshler-Wallick Hotel at Broad and High Streets -and attended the Ohio State Fair.

Pinky worked in the Pillsbury feed mill industry (ultimately retiring from Landmark Feed/CountryMark after many years) -and life had them living in Cairo, Lima, and then in Vaughnsville, where they rented half a house from her grandmother. This arrangement brought granddaughter and grandmother closer together -and helped immensely in the raising of her children. Over the course of a decade or so, the couple welcomed four children.

Helen remembers those as halcyon years, as she loved raising her young family. She enjoyed cooking and baking, always putting together hearty meals. Pots of potatoes and meat would slow cook while the family attended Sunday service. Her fried chicken, cookies, pies, and cakes were the aroma of their happy home. Laughter and upbeat banter was the music.

A favorite family pastime was fishing in the clear waters of Sugar Creek as well as at a nearby quarry. She recalls the joy a snaring a big catfish to be gutted, scaled and fried up for the family to enjoy. There were also much-anticipated summer trips to Indian Lake where the family rented a cottage.

In 1984, some time after the consolidation of Vaughnsville and Columbus Grove High Schools, the family bought a house in Columbus Grove, near a park and right across from the high school.

Helen grew to embrace the town, and especially loved Kohl’s Market. The family enjoyed the mom and pop restaurants.

With its castle-themed pool, nearby skating rink, and Bulldog spirit, Columbus Grove felt like home.

Before they became empty nesters, she and her husband loved attending their children’s sporting events and activities. As time passed, they shifted their attention and energy toward their grandchildren’s lives.

Gene got a job working in a local greenhouse, and Helen kept busy plying her homemaking and cooking skills with a new generation of family. Christmas, as always, was a celebration of faith and tradition. Most gifts were practical -but there were always “fun surprises” thrown in.

Life for the couple changed when Gene suffered a stroke.

Helen became his devoted caregiver -and did all that she could to keep him engaged and involved. As they lived near the school, he’d ride his mobility scooter to sporting events like football and basketball games as Helen walked beside him.

When her beloved husband passed, Helen was heartbroken but carried on, living a quiet life with a revolving door of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren stopping in for cookies and visits.

Filling each day with purpose, acquiescing to a greater power, making family a priority, and enjoying the simple pleasures of each day have made this centenarian a happy woman.

When her visitors arrive to visit, no child, grandchild, or great-grandchild walks away without dipping down for a warm embrace and kiss.

Helen, surprised by how quickly a century has passed, feels blessed beyond measure. She has worked hard. Loved well. Served others.

She has truly LIVED.

When speaking of what tomorrow might bring, she looks out her window and smiles. She doesn’t fear going to sleep. She’s happy for the sunrise.

Her faith, gratitude, and serenity have carried her through life -and will one day usher her beyond.

Helen W., the quiet farm girl who grew to be a beloved family matriarch, carries within her the secret of life:

We are born to serve. It is in that service to others that we find our greatest purpose and joy.