The Post Sunday, August 15, 2004 3 long life is to keep @®race moving and keep continued f 1 busy,” says Straka. ( eo rom Dae ) She was a graduate tion in eight years,” says Car- of Albany Business olyn. Their Oak Hill neighbors College, a typist, and have been a great help, and remembers working Grace has a companion, Ruth Roan, who comes in once a week for four hours. on a “comptometer,” an early version of a calculator. She volun- But the Strakas do have their teered at the hospital season tickets to the hockey and belonged to the games. “And we tell her in ad- women’s Kiwanis af- vance we're going because she fjiate. does have some separation anx- The couple trav- iety,” says Straka. Besides that gled to all 50 states, and some glaucoma, Grace Webster is a picture of good health at 101. She takes no medication, except for an ap- the Holy Land, Cana- da and Mexico, and Europe. “We, as a family, took a whole petite enhancer and some as- pirin. Grace Webster, born in Crown Point, New York, 101 years ago on August 11, 1903, has seen a lot. She lived in Al- month off to see all the national parks one year, my father saved up his vacation time. It was an expe- rience of a lifetime,” bany, Utica and then in the says Straka. Clearwater and Tampa, Florida Grace still loves chocolate, areas for 20 years. deviled eggs, fresh fruit, and more chocolate, “Want a bite?” she offers. “She and my father were al- ® very active, golfing, walk- g She has five grandchildren , gardening. Her secret to FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Lena Baur, Carolyn Straka, Ed Straka, Kevin Straka, Richelle Straka, Noelle straka and Kevin Straka Jr. helped Grace Webster celebrate her 101st birthday last week. now, and eight great-grandchil- dren, two of whom attended a party at the Strakas’ house on their great-grandma’s 101st birthday. Grace gets up and heads for the couch. Asked if she can walk, she quickly quips, “Yes, it’s the only way I can get around, but I have to use the walker.” Her son-in-law jokes that she doesn’t handle the snow blower very well any- more, though. Trucksville Nursery School 40 Knob Hill Road Trucksville, PA 18708 “Providing “Quality” Early Childhood Education for children ages 2 Yz to 5 years old for over 35 years!” Limited Openings Available! Call Today: 696-3899 Session Times 9:30am-12:00 Noon 1:00pm-3:30pm FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Hot time in Huntsville The fourth annual Huntsville Days celebration kept folks busy in that part of the Back Mountain August 7, with a va- riety of activities for all ages. In photos, clockwise from top: Alexie Metz and grandfather Skip Davis explored the nature of the beasts that were used to"draw ‘Wagon rides; Caitlyn Metz had the first part of this scarecrow under control at the scarecrow making spot; the father-son team of Brian and Kyle Lewis manned the grills; Susan Pall, Jim Pall, Christine Balberchak, Shirley Nicely and Norma Wright helped sell homemade pies at the Huntsville Methodist Church; John Hudak, Lisa Baker and "Skyy" Sym had the best job in Huntsville, judging the pie baking contest. By a BM REALTY HOURIGAN AH NI\WORLD oa B BROKER NETWORK ESTATE “No One will work harder or more professionally, for less drayage, to sell your home for the most money than we will.” — Frank Hourigan, Proprietor CALL US FOR A FREE MARKET ANALYSIS NOW! “Large Enough to Serve You — Small Enough to Care.” “SERVICE IS WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT!” (570) 403-3000 14 South Mountain Blvd., Mountain Top Teen (continued from page 1) babysitting. There are six judging cate- gories. The program states; “the categories provide a thor- ough and accurate means of se- lecting a well-rounded candi- date for the State Titleholder.” The candidate chosen for the title of Miss Teen Pennsylvania has the opportunity to com- pete for the National Title of Miss Teen of America. Debra scored the highest out of 249 girls for the Scholastic Record Award. The other cate- gories are judge's interview, poise and personality projec- tion in formal wear, service and achievement, personal de- velopment and general aware- ness. Debra’s many past and pres- ent academic achievements in- clude; the National Honor So- ciety, honors with distinction, National Language Arts Olympiad finalist, Science Olympiad winner, President’s Award for Educational Excel lence and The Accelerated Reader Award. (She held the school record for 7th and 8th grade and was first in her class.) She’s in her church choir, youth group, a reader and vaca- tion Bible school volunteer. She participates in many school clubs and sports. She is a Senior Girl Scout and do- nates much of her time helping those less fortunate than her any way she can. In 2001 she donated 16 inch- es of her hair to Locks of Love which makes wigs for children undergoing chemotherapy. She donated another 13 inches in 2004. Her hobbies include reading, writing poetry, babysitting and traveling. During the summer of 2000 she visited 18 national parks during a cross-country road trip with her family. Debra has always gotten good grades, according to her mom. “I think she got one B in her life. The one thing I can recommend is reading. Mr. Martinelli (Dallas Middle School Principal) always said, ‘Kids who read get good grades.” Well I can attest to that.” Debra got hooked on reading from the Nancy Drew books when she was younger. Debra is not sure what school activities she wants to participate in this year but she knows she doesn’t have time for the swim team again. “Dur- ing swimming, it was really rough. I'd practice at the mid- dle school until 6, eat dinner at 6:30, and two nights a week go to church for chime and choir practice and some nights I'd have Girl Scouts. Then I'd have to do .whatever homework I had.” She hasn’t decided what col- lege she wants to attend. “I think it would be cool to go across country or even to a dif- ferent nation for college. I have a list of about 30 different jobs that I want to do,” she said. One of her aspirations is to run for President of the United States in the year 2024. She’s interested in politics and is fol- lowing the presidential cam- paign. “It kind of disgusts me the way they'll do anything to get elected.” She said that being in the pageant was a good experi ence. “It was a lot of fun. Everyone was so nice. I wasn’t nervous about being on stage. I was more nervous about the in- terview, but when I got in there, the judges were so nice. I felt like I was talking to my friends at home,” she said. FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Richard Ketchner holding Thomas, Mary, Debra, Jane and Greta Ketchner pose for a photo. Debra wears the dress she wore at the pageant, and holds her medal. Send your news to The Post by e-mail. thepost@leader.net Digital photos welcome, too! Deadline for submitted copy and photos is Wednesday at noon JOAN HARRIS CENTRE Twin Stacks—Dallas 674-3699 NOW ENROLLING! BALLET-—FAD—JAZZ—HID HOP A Community School With An International Reputation Fonturing The Promisre Tap Program in The Beck Woustale] wyau joanharrisdancers com NA TNR EINER{OIS1FN ISBN Your Car has More than 2,000 Working parts. we COVer Every One of Them. i To find out more about our auto insurance — id Call me... Stop by... Log on - it’s your choice! GORDON-SMITH Insurance Agency Charles W. Gordon, Associate Agent Lauren M. 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