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Of
Interest:
As
of June, 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates there
are about 95,000 centenarians, a number that is
increasing steadily, and is predicted to more than
quadruple by 2030, reaching 1.15 million by 2050.
Some demographers are even
predicting that high school students of today have a
good chance of reaching the century mark!
Also,
for the near term, a
conservative estimate is that at least one out of three
women age 50 today will reach 90. |
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National Centenarian Awareness
Project celebrates active centenarians as role models for the
future of aging. Each month we present remarkable centenarians and
feature one on our inspirational calendar. Weekly, on our blog, we
discuss centenarians and what it’s like to live to 100 and beyond.
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“Take Me Out
to the Ballgame” Turns 100
Commemorated with Stamp |
“The Cubs have got
them; the Red Sox, too. Centenarian fans in the news – and, of
course, the Yankees have done it one better: They have a former
player, Bill Werber, who recently reached the century mark. He was
on the team with Babe Ruth! All over the news, too, has been the
100th anniversary of America’s third most popular song: “Take Me
Out to the Ballgame.” And now there is a commemorative stamp –
the first to celebrate a song. Americans – centenarians included –
love their baseball!”
Read more about the commemorative stamp on our
blog: Click here. |
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| Identical
Twins Turned 100 June 29th ... Still Driving! |
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Identical twins, Eloise Rogers and Lois Fisher,
turned 100 on June 29th. Happy Birthday!
Photo: courtesy of
Anne Hart |
Happy Birthday to identical twins Eloise
Rogers and Lois Fisher, who turned 100 on June 29th. Identical
twins turn 100 – extremely rare! AND, they are still driving!
Wow, that’s a show stopper! The twin sisters live across the street
from each other, and every day one of them picks the other up and
away they go – to the mall, for lunch, and other fun adventures.
At age 98, Eloise’s Chevy gave out and she bought
a new Honda “because it was known for its longevity.” The twins
look and act years younger than their chronological age, but their
driver’s licenses tell the tale: They were born the same year that
the Model T Ford was introduced, 1908. Congratulations Eloise and
Lois on reaching the century mark! |
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National
Centenarian Awareness Project (NCAP)
was founded by Lynn
Peters Adler, J.D., who has devoted her career to honoring, studying,
and advocating for increased recognition and inclusion of centenarians
and all elders as a natural part of the fabric of our society. Lynn has
a wealth of information about this increasing segment of our population
and centenarians in particular. Because of her rapport with this special
group, she has a unique understanding of their needs, thoughts, behavior
and philosophies of life. Lynn’s work is predicated on the belief that
ageism in America is both wrong and unnecessary. |
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Lynn Peters Adler (center) with centenarians (l-r) "Rosie"
Ross, Lillian Cox, Elsa Hoffmann and Karl Hartzel.
Dorothy
Young, inset. Click to read
more about the "Fab Five" and
the Barbara Walters Special.
Click
here to read bios of
each of the "Fab Five." |
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Lynn’s voice on centenarians, longevity and positive aging, with an
emphasis on quality of life issues, has been heard throughout the
United States. She continues her long-standing involvement in
community service with her appointment to a new term on the Arizona
Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging (www.azgovernor.gov/gaca)
and the Arizona Attorney
General’s Senior Advisory Council. For ten years she served as
chairperson of the Phoenix Mayor’s Aging Services Commission.
She founded the Arizona Centenarian Program during her first term on
the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging in the mid 1980s.
(click for more: About Lynn
Peters Adler)
Lynn is a consultant to
companies on aging and centenarian-related programs. She also serves as
a catalyst to bring active centenarians to the public’s attention, often
through print and broadcast media. |
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National
Centenarian Awareness Project
Mission:
“It is
a great distinction to live to 100 years or more.” –
Lynn Peters Adler, 1985
ADVOCACY:
For the continued involvement of our
elders as integral members of society.
CELEBRATION/RECOGNITION:
NCAP seeks to contact and honor all those 100 years old
and older as our living links to history and works with
community entities to promote recognition of our eldest
citizens.
Click
to learn about NCAP Centenarian Recognition Program.
INSPIRATION:
Active centenarians are role models
for the future of aging
For more information about National Centenarian
Awareness Project, click on About
NCAP and read our blog: www.liveto100and beyond.com |
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Direct email
to:
adler@NCAP100s.org
800-243-1889 or 602-363-8980 -
cellphone |
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Our Centenarian 2008 Calendar is inspirational.
Each month we feature a remarkable centenarian and invite you to read
about the centenarian and print out the month's calendar. |
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August 2008
Lulu Johnston |
Lula Johnston wasn’t born in
Georgia, but she’s spent the past 95
years living there, reaching the century mark on July 6, 2008.
Lulu's as sweet and nice a person as you ever will find. She lives
now with her daughter, Lou Ellen, who says she’s a real pleasure to
be with, always positive, never negative and very loving and
giving.
Indeed, in so many ways, Lula is an inspiration
to her three children, 12 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren,
and she enjoys passing on life lessons. She is also an inspiration
to everyone else who meets her. “I believe in being positive and in
loving everybody,” she tells. “I love being around people.”
Click on the calendar for a larger view, to print out
the calendar and read more about Lulu Johnston.
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Our calendar is inspirational!
Please read this post on our blog:
Inspirational Centenarian Calendar
Click here. |
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Great News!! Our Fab Five
centenarians are mentioned
in Barbara Walters' new book!! #1
on the New York Times Best Seller List for weeks
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Writes Barbara Walters:
“I particularly liked doing the
Special this year ... called How to Live to Be 150. It
was cutting-edge science, including the latest in stem-cell
research and a drug that now fights aging in mice and may in
the future work on humans. Mind-boggling!
"As part of the Special I
interviewed half a dozen on-the-ball men and women who were
each 100 years old or older. My favorite was 101-year-old
Dorothy, who came with her 94-year-old boyfriend. Dorothy
told me that she is happier now than she has ever been. She
had been married, she said, for forty-six years before her
husband died, but it was a bad marriage and finally she had
found true love. So there you are. It really is never too
late.”
Click to learn more about
Dorothy Young and view a video of her life.
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Dorothy’s romance doesn’t surprise us at all, and that was
the main point of including her with Stan at the taping of
the Barbara Walters Special — to show that we don’t outgrow
our need and desire for love and relationships of all kinds,
even in advanced age.
We’re so pleased that this
resonated with Ms. Walters, who is known for her sensitivity
to and insight with her interviewees. In fact, we have a
lot to say on this topic, a topic I first broached many
years ago when it was really “taboo.”
Click for an
excerpt from “Centenarians: The Bonus Years” and “love
stories” of others we have known.
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Click for Barbara Walters'
article on the ABC website
The ABC Barbara Walters Special on
aging and longevity "Live to be 150" aired the first of April,
2008.
I was asked two years ago to participate in this
project and it was both a wonderful and exhilarating experience.
It was an honor and a privilege to work
with Ms. Walters and her talented and caring team of professionals.
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The Barbara Walters Special features five of our
centenarians:
Pictured (l-r): Dorothy Young, "Rosie" Ross, Lillian Cox,
Barbara Walters, Dr. Karl Hartzell and Elsa Hoffmann.
Click to read an article on the ABC website about the
Special by producers Jennifer Joseph and Rob Wallace |
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We’ve put together a “behind the scene” feature with bios of each of the five centenarians who traveled to New
York City last September for this history-making, first-ever event.
When a “TV legend” is interested in longevity, it makes all the work I
have devoted my career to over the past 23 years worthwhile – AGING IS IN!!
Ms. Walters is even more attractive in person; she
was so gracious with the centenarians and her staff so very considerate
and respectful. I have participated in a lot of media productions over
the years and often with centenarians. Some of the experiences have unfortunately been somewhere
between upsetting and disappointing. But
with Ms. Walters’ team, it was “top notch,” as one of my 100-year-old
friends put it, and another summed it up as a “magical experience.”
Behind the scenes ...
The making of the
Barbara Walters
Special! Click here. |
Updated 8-2008
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© 1998-2008 National Centenarian Awareness Project & Lynn Peters
Adler, J.D.
No material, in whole or in part, may be reprinted
or reproduced in any form without the prior written permission
of Lynn Peters Adler and the National Centenarian Awareness Project.
Sitemap Website: Donald Downes
- www.donalddownes.com
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