Gilbert Hardy Celebrates 96th Birthday

Gilbert Hardy of Withee , celebrated his 96th birthday last Sunday March 2nd, 1980. He was honored with a birthday party at the home of his daughter, Eleanor DeMoss, where he makes his home.

Members of his family came to help him celebrate, including his son Henry and wife, Mary of Spokane, Washington; his son Martin and wife, Christine of Golden Valley, Minnesota. Other members of the family attending were his grandchildren, Linda and her husband Sam Lockhart of Mosinee, Patricia Boardman of inner Grover Heights, Minnesota; Thomas Hardy and his wife, Anita of Isanti, Minnesota; Kenneth Hardy and his wife, Joyce of Richfield, Minnesota; Steven Hardy and his wife, Linda of Mayer, Minnesota and Janice Hardy of Cottage Grove, Minnesota.

Great-grandchildren present were Sam Jr., David and Debra Lockhart and Susan, Cindy, Brenda and Kurt Broadman. Another granddaughter, Mr. And Mrs. Vaughn Schafer of Bossier City, La., paid a surprise visit Monday, March 3rd.

Gilbert Hardy is a spry and lively man, who, on most days if the weather permits, walks daily about a mile, to the post office and back home again. He said that he has done a lot of walking in 96 years.

His mind is very alert, and his memory is good, even to the point of remembering how things were in America during the presidential years of President Grover Cleveland, who served two terms, first from 1885-1889 and then again 1893-1897.

In those days, he said, most people raised their own food, while now we buy most of it. During Cleveland’s time, eggs sold for only .6 a dozen, and butter was .10 a pound, and one could buy meat over the counter for only .10 a pound.

" I bought a pair of good working shoes in 1901, for a $1," he said.

Of course, wages weren’t much either. Workers never received much for a day’s work in those days. The top wages for a first class farm hand was $20.00 a month. Top pay for a day’s work, sun-up to sun-down, was about .70 a day. He remembered that when Grover Cleveland finished his second term, .50 was the top daily wage for workers.

There wasn’t much in the way of entertainment in those years. Perhaps a dance, or a party at someone’s house, or perhaps a spell-down at the local school. Otherwise, people had to entertain themselves.

Born during the last year of Chester Arthur’s administration, Hardy has lived under 18 presidents, which is almost half of the 38 which have served in that office. He generally voted Republican, starting with Teddy Roosevelt the first time. He said that he voted for Herbert Hoover the first time he ran, but then voted for the other fellow the next time, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Born in Richland County, Wisconsin on March 2nd, 1884. Hardy lived in this area until 20 years old, then moved to Lincoln County for a few years, but has lived most of his life in Clark County.

He worked at odd jobs, such as carpenter work, road building work, and a lot in the woods, logging. He and his wife rented a farm and farmed for almost 50 years in the Longwood area.

Hardy has seen many changes, so many in fact that it is often confusing. Born in the "horse and buggy" age, he has seen the world move from a time when most jobs were done by hand, to a time when almost every job or chore is accomplished by machine or computer.

Although the airplane has been around for a long time, Hardy has never been in one, and very quietly he said, "I’ve always wanted to keep my feet on the ground."

Always in good health, Hardy, who always smoked a pipe and cigars once in a while, gave up both about 20 years ago. He has always liked fat meat, pork and his favorite food is potatoes. He has always said he would starve without potatoes.

Gilbert Hardy is one of the oldest subscribers of the Owens Enterprise, which of course makes him one of the few who have had a subscription for the longest period of time. He and his family took out a subscription in 1928, and he has been getting the Enterprise regularly for over 52 years.

Hardy hasn’t traveled very far from his native state during his lifetime. His latest trip was to the Hardy-Burrington family reunion, which was held last summer in Janesville, where over 100 members of the two families attended.

His family is spread out all over the country. There are four of his children still living, one daughter, with whom he lives in Withee, and three sons, one in Minnesota, one in Nevada and one in Washington. He has 12 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.

His oldest son is Keith, living with his family in Nevada; Henry who lives in Spokane, Washington, and Martin in Golden Valley, Minnesota.

He is now looking forward to another year, and perhaps for more to reach that centennial age, in 1984.