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| "Thunderstorm" painting by Grandma Moses (1948 - at 88 years). |
- My friend Mel started running triathlons shortly before his 60th birthday.
- My cousin Len began studying Punjabi at 77 so he could talk to his neighbours.
- Lucille Broderson wrote her first poem at 60 and had her first poem published, in Poetry Magazine, at 73. At 95 she's still feisty, writing and publishing her prize-winning poems. Here she is reading poetry in her home city of Minneapolis Minnesota
- At 95 Nola Hill Ochs is one of the the oldest people ever to graduate from college. She graduated from Fort Hays State University in Hays Kansas in 2007 after a career as a student that spanned 33 years (she first enrolled in a correspondence course in 1930). A CBS interview of her shows her with her granddaughter, who graduated with her.
Nola Ochs: "There's a great satisfaction in finishing what you start."
- Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson: September 1860 - December 1961) took up painting at 76, after her arthritis made it too painful to carry on stitching the embroidery pictures she loved to create. In 1938 art collector Louis Caldor discovered her work. An Encyclopedia of World Biography article about her talks about her meteoric rise to fame: Her first one-woman show was held in New York City in 1940 and immediately she became famous. Her second one-woman show, also in New York City, came two years later. By 1943 there was an overwhelming demand for her pictures, partially because her homespun, country scenes brought about wonderful feelings and memories for many people. (See more of her paintings here.)
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| "Quilting Bee" by Grandma Moses (1950 - at 90 years) |
First published on my personal blog promptings June 19, 2012; one of a series of weekly Tuesday posts that explores aspects of aging.
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5 comments:
Love, this, Violet, so inspiring! And it makes me feel less self-conscious about being a grad student in my 40s!
Love it, too, Violet. Thanks, it is very inspiring! I viewed the piece on Promptings and may have commented about it there.
On reading this here it occurred to me that we have numerous examples of venerable seniors in our TWG family who continue to forge ahead with writing projects and other forms of creative expression with vision and vigor.
(I'll play safe and refrain from naming any. ;) )
As one who just passed another milestone, I too thank you for this, Violet. Very encouraging. :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you! My own aging is the reason I decided to delve into this sometimes depressing and avoided topic.
Congratulations, Carolyn, on your grad student status. You have much to be proud of! I'd say let Nola Ochs inspire you to keep going to school as long as the desire is there.
Peter, maybe we should begin gathering stories of exceptional TWG seniors and their accomplishments.
Marcia, it seems age is only making you better, so keep writing your wonderful stories and devotions.
Hmm, that's certainly a good idea and would be a worthy project, Violet. But I don't know that I would be up to the challenge; I'm sure there are many senior TWGers who would be, though! ;)
Congratulations also to Carolyn, kudos and commendations to Marcia, and admiration and encouragement to you on tackling this area.
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