Argus News Editor
In December of 1909 William Howard Taft was just completing his first year as President of the United States. There were only 46 stars on the U.S. flag, as it would be several years before New Mexico and Arizona became states and nearly 50 years before Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union.
One hundred years ago Loretta Mechtel of Caledonia celebrated her first Christmas. Last Friday Loretta celebrated her 101st Christmas. She observed her 100th birthday nearly a month ago on Dec. 9.
On Dec. 20, friends and relatives honored the extremely alert 100-year-old with a birthday coffee party in the Holy Family Hall at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Caledonia.
Reaching the century mark is quite an accomplishment in itself. But to be 100 years young and still living in one’s home with very little outside care is quite amazing.
When asked about the fact that she had just celebrated her 100th birthday and still resides in her own home without a home health aid or other help, she shrugged and replied, “Oh, I guess I’m lucky to still have my health. I don’t hear real well anymore, but other than that, I can’t complain.”
Loretta doesn’t look a day over 85. She had eye surgery when she was 90 and doesn’t need glasses, not even to read a newspaper. The most recent issue of The Caledonia Argus was situated on a table next to her chair. She said she still reads it cover to cover.
Loretta was born in 1909 to Lewis and Anna Mechtel on a farm several miles west of Caledonia in Caledonia Township. Her father had a milk route. He would pick up milk with a horse-drawn wagon (or sleigh during the winter months) and transport the canned milk to a creamery in Eitzen nearly 10 miles away.
“It was hard work,” Loretta recalls. “He did that and farmed too.”
The Mechtel family moved east of Caledonia onto an 80-acre farm in Mayville Township. There Loretta and older siblings Genevieve and Leonard helped with the daily
chores.
When asked about her earliest recollections of Christmas, Loretta said she remembers the large Christmas tree they would have in the house each year. “It went from the floor to the ceiling. We’d cut it from our farm property. We didn’t have electricity back then. So we’d put candles on it and other decorations. We only lit the candles at Christmas Eve, and only when adults were there.”
Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve was another event vividly etched in Loretta’s memory. Her father would hitch up the team of horses, the family would pile into the sleigh, snuggled in warm blankets and traverse through the snow to Caledonia, three miles away.
The family wasn’t dropped off at the church, however. Lewis would pilot the team to his favorite livery stable (there were three in Caledonia back then) and make sure the horses were tended to. Then the family would walk the three blocks to church and midnight Christmas Mass.
“I remember the church being so bright with candles,” Loretta said. “And even though it was midnight, the church was always full.”
Loretta said she remembers one Christmas Eve when it was particularly cold, her mother instructed her to wear two pairs of socks. She was so excited about it being Christmas Eve, she put on two pairs of socks, but put three socks on one foot and only one on the other. The one foot got cold because it only had one sock and the other because her shoe fit too tightly.
She also recalled another sleigh ride when the horses got spooked by the train whistle and bolted. Her sister broke her leg when the sleigh flipped over.
Loretta attended country school when she was quite young. It was a two-mile walk. It didn’t matter if the Houston County landscape was covered with several feet of fresh snow. They didn’t call school off back in those days.
When she first started school, she didn’t like it. She and a friend decided they didn’t need “educating,” so they ran away from school and spent the day playing in the woods. When asked what the repercussions were, she said she didn’t remember getting into trouble.
Loretta went to “Catholic Sister School” in Caledonia after her first communion until she was 14. She stayed in town with relatives during the school year.
“When I turned 14, I figured I’d had enough of school,” she replied.
Growing up on a farm, where she picked corn and shocked grain by hand, Loretta learned how to work at an early age.
Loretta spent many years working around the Caledonia area as a wallpaper hanger. She said many people didn’t mind hanging paper on walls, but didn’t want to do the high work, papering ceilings or putting up borders.
“I was never scared of heights. I used to do stairways and papered lots of tall ceilings.”
Loretta loved to play cards. From the time she was quite young, relatives would come from all over for weekend card parties. They played bridge, canasta, euchre, whist and poker.
She never married or had a family but developed a close-knit group of friends who loved to play cards.
“I still like to gamble. I still go to the boat and play the slots,” she said proudly. “In fact, it wasn’t too long ago I hit a jackpot.”
Still sharp as a tack, Loretta handles her own finances. Her niece Dona Mullen travels from Illinois on a regular basis to help Loretta, and Rita Noel stops by almost daily to help out.
When asked what her secret to longevity is, she replied, “Hard work. It never killed anyone. Maybe that’s one of the reasons I’ve lived so long,” she said with a smile.
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