In 1924, a loaf of bread cost $0.09, Chrysler produced their first car (the Chrysler Model B-70), and the first Winter Olympics opened in Chamonix, France. Also in 1924, Lorraine Nelson was born on January 30th to a Wisconsin farm family.
Lorraine remembers life without a car or telephone as a young girl and recalls walking to and from school each day. She learned to drive a car when she was about sixteen, after her family purchased one. As a young woman, Lorraine enjoyed dancing. One night, she took the car and went to pick up a friend. The two girls went to the dance, but on the way back, the car ran out of gas just before reaching Lorraine’s home. She walked the remainder of the way home, and the next morning her father took out a team of horses to pull the car back to the farm.
After graduating high school, Lorraine took the Greyhound to St. Paul, MN, where she got a job at Montgomery Ward. The Greyhound line was a convenient way for her to travel back and forth to her family. Now a resident at Carefree Living in Silver Bay, she remains an avid Packers fan (“the Packers always win”) and stays active by walking regularly “in the morning, at dinner — that’s what I call it — and supper.”
When asked what advice she’d give to young people, Lorraine replied, “Don’t be afraid to do different things. If something doesn’t work for you, don’t give up. Keep trying until you come up with something.”
Happy 100th Birthday, Lorraine! Best wishes for your new century.
