GALION — Charlotte Geyer, a Mount Gilead native and resident at Mill Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, celebrated a milestone birthday on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, turning 101 with members of her family in attendance..
Geyer said she doesn’t have any profound words to share on how she has lived such a long life, but she did say she’s had a good life and has lived it to the fullest.
Geyer was born in Marengo, Ohio, and her maiden name was Hart. Shortly after graduating high school in 1937, Geyer met and married her husband Mell. Together, they raised three children and owned and operated Geyer’s Market in Mount Gilead. They were married around 40 years. Mell passed away in 1977.
Geyer was a stay-at-home mother and then started working at the market as a cashier when her children got older and were in school full-time.
Pam Clinger, Geyer’s daughter, said they had the store from the 1940s until her dad passed away and then some cousins took over the business. Clinger said a Geyer’s opened in Galion and she worked there for awhile.
“There are no more Geyer’s now,” she noted.
Geyer had a big garden in her home-maker years and canned vegetables and fruits to put up for the winter months.
“We always had a garden,” she said.
“We had a fruit room. I remember that,” Clinger added.
Now, Geyer enjoys crocheting, making lap robes that she donates to veterans and the local county veterans office.
“She likes to play cards and dominoes,” Clinger said, and then noted her mother wintered in Florida for around 50 years.
“She has had a lot of adventures for her age,” Clinger said, listing off a multitude of activities her mother did in her golden years.
At 70, Geyer decided to take up golf. When she was 75 she took a trip to Italy. When she was 81, Geyer and her family traveled to Alaska on a land and cruise tour, and when she was 85, Clinger said Geyer’s son took her on a 50-mile trip on the back of a scooter.
“And at 90 she took an air boat ride in the Florida Everglades,” Clinger said.
When asked what her secret was for her long life, Geyer said, “Just take it as it comes. I’ve had a good life.”
“She’s had some good relationships with friends who are fun and I think that’s a big thing,” Clinger said.
Clinger said she learned many lessons from her mother, but two sayings especially stand out.
“Two things I remember her saying over and over is ‘to be nice to everyone.’ And the other was to ‘write the names and dates on the back of pictures.’ That was so important. I did try to be nice to everyone, but I wasn’t very good with the picture thing,” Clinger joked.
