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SV native, Betty Wagner, celebrates 100th birthday

LOGANTON -- "I was born in this house," said Betty Wagner as she glanced around the dining room of her Booneville home.

To be exact, baby Betty Yarrison came into this world on Jan. 8, 1923 -- one hundred years ago this month.

A whole century later, she is vibrant, strong-minded, a pleasure to talk to and has a memory to match. Her bright blue eyes can light up a room, and she doesn't look a day over 80.

Like Betty, the 1865 farmhouse is beautiful and humble. Its furnishings are classic with some of the same belongings put there by Betty's parents and grandparents, over 100 years ago.

"My favorite memory of this farm is the play dinners in the summerhouse attic with my friend, June Lehman Schrack, when we were little girls," she said with a smile.

According to Betty, the two best friends still keep in touch.

"I keep reminding her of those times when I talk to her on the phone," Betty laughed.

"June called the morning of my 100th to wish me a happy birthday," said Betty. "She lives in Watsontown and will also turn 100 later this summer."

With her daughter, Janice Abbott, by her side, Betty reminisced about her life over the past century.

"My earliest memory from here is when the seamstress, Myrtle Morris, came to the house to make my dress for the community picnic. I was about four or five years old," she recalled.

Betty even talked about some events that have been long forgotten by almost everyone living in the valley today.

"I remember going to 'Pumpkin Pie Picnics' up on the Carroll mountain where the church camp is now," said Betty. "I was a teenager, and I played clarinet in the school band, so I got to go to the picnics. It became a tradition, people having these get togethers. It was held in August and people would meet there and bring pumpkin pies and their picnics along and have a really good time."

Betty went from being a Sugar Valley farm-girl attending one room school houses, to graduating high school a year early, to living the city life, in the blink of an eye.

"After high school, I went to beauty school in Williamsport where I worked in a beauty shop for about two years," she explained. "Of course, that was the early 1940s and the war was going on. I left there and went to Sylvania in Montoursville. At first we were making bulbs, and then we ended up making proximity fuses for the submarines."

"While I was there, I ended up teaching some of the veterans that had been discharged. Sylvania hired them because they needed work," explained Betty. "That was quite an experience to have as a teenager, teaching these older guys what to do."

At Sylvania, Betty met the love of her life, John Wagner. They married in 1948 and would build a life together over the next 58 years, including raising their three children, Janice, Linda and Fred. Their travels led them far away from central Pennsylvania to the opposite end of the country where they would live in Texas, before settling down in Florida for four decades.

John and Betty eventually came home to Sugar Valley, and back to her roots, before John passed away in 2007. Today, their family has expanded to include seven grandkids, and eight great-grandchildren.

When presented with the usual questions one is asked as a centenarian, Betty had her answers ready.

The secret to longevity and good health?

"Living in Florida for 40 years and following good instructions," she said. "I eat a balanced breakfast of orange juice, scrambled eggs, toast and coffee, and farm fresh meals."

On the day Betty was born the President of the United States was Warren G. Harding, and so far, she has lived through a total of 18 United States Presidents. Betty says her favorite president of her lifetime is "The Gipper" himself, Ronald Reagan.

"My husband and I even went to a rally for him at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale," she said.

What does Betty think the most important invention of the past 100 years is?

"The computer," she replied. "I use a tablet everyday to read the news and I FaceTime with my grandkids, but I have to say, technology is moving so fast."

She's not wrong. There have been more leaps in technology over the past 100 years, than any other in history.

Betty was 23 years old when the computer was invented in 1946. The first model took up a whole room, but now, it's typical to see someone with a computer watch on their wrist, that contains more information than the original.

In 1923, a person living in Sugar Valley most likely had to walk quite a distance to even use a telephone. In 2023, the typical valley resident carries a small computer in their pocket -- a cell phone -- and can video chat with someone on the other side of the world at the push of a screen.

What does someone who is 100 do to stay current and mentally alert?

"I enjoy reading books by Nicholas Sparks and current political authors, watching TV, napping and watching the birds," said Betty.

But Betty's real passion is art.

"Most of my life I enjoyed oil painting," explained Betty.

She is an accomplished artist and has produced more than 70 paintings, and even won awards. Her art has been displayed in prominent museums in the Fort Lauderdale area.

"I always liked art, and had instructors when I lived in Williamsport and Fort Lauderdale," explained Betty.

However, the kind of talent she has, cannot be taught.

Betty's natural eye for light and shadow play an important role in her beautiful work.

"The early ones are brush paintings, but then I really got into using the palette knife, which I really like," she remarked.

Betty has lived through several milestones in history most people have only read about in books: Prohibition, the introduction of pre-sliced bread in stores, the Great Depression, the New Deal, the Holocaust, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the defeat of Hitler and the Nazi War Machine and the end of WW2.

Betty was 18 years old the day her two uncles, Boyd and Merle Yarrison, signed up to go to the second World War. It was a historic day not only for her family, but for the entire nation.

"I remember the day when my uncles joined the Army. It was Dec. 7, 1941, when they announced about Pearl Harbor being bombed. I remember my Grandmother saying 'well, my boys will be going to war.' Which is what actually happened," she said. "They both joined the service. Both of them went to Germany and were tank destroyers."

Betty has experienced other landmark events like the rise and fall of polio due to the introduction of the poliovirus vaccine in 1955; and in 1961 when the first man traveled to space; followed by historical moments such as the passing of the Civil Rights Act; man landing and walking on the moon; the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA; and the 9/11 attack on America.

"I believe the most significant event of my lifetime would have to be the moon landing, and watching it on TV," Betty recalled.

Recently, Betty's history timeline includes living through a global pandemic in 2020, as COVID-19 made its way around the world.

Over the past century, Betty has witnessed constant changes in how women are perceived, the roles they play and the rights they have. In 2021 Kamala Harris became the first woman to take on the position of Vice President of the United States of America -- something Betty's grandmother may have never imagined possible.

"Female lives have changed considerably in my years. I experienced the U.S. having its first female vice president."

This is a big victory leap for the women of Betty's mother's time, seeing they didn't even have the right to vote until 1920 -- only three years before Betty was born.

In 100 years, so much history, so many significant events have happened in Betty's lifetime, but none as important to her as spending time with her family.

A small family party took place on Betty's birthday at the home she shares with Janice and her son-in-law Jerome. It was a happy day for all, as Betty was surrounded by family who spent the day celebrating her with gifts, flowers and a meal of lasagna, champagne and ice cream cake.

Before blowing out her candles, she made her wish. "My wish is for everyone to be happy and healthy." Her guests cheered as she extinguished the candles.

And rightfully so -- Betty Wagner is a fountain of youth and knowledge, with a century of stories to tell, and a Sugar Valley treasure.