She keeps going and going
Norma Hannaford to celebrate 106 years
Staff writer
Marion County Record columnist Norma Hannaford will celebrate her 106th birthday Saturday.
She said she was planning to skip birthdays after she turned 105 but that seems to be impossible. Her family is planning a get-together to help her celebrate.
When Norma celebrated her 100th birthday in 2004, she most likely was the oldest active journalist in Kansas, and it’s more likely now.
With the encouragement of Editor Bill Meyer, Norma began writing commentaries for the newspaper in 2001, at the age of 97. Her mind remains strong. She is an avid reader and likes to comment on the books she reads.
She regards her writings as therapy.
“I think I should retire but then I would lose my contact with the outside world,” she said.
Daughters Wanda and Mary and son Bud and his wife Lavonne make sure she is well taken care of. Jean Case and Dorothy Youk are good friends who stop by often to visit.
Norma relies on home health services and meals-on-wheels to keep her going in her own home.
“I am very thankful for all the help I get,” she said. “As long as I have that, I’ll be OK.”
And readers will continue to read her commentaries in the Marion County Record.