When Thelma Starr Hettrick was born Sept. 28, 1906, telegrams were still the primary form of long-distance communication and you needed thorough training in chemistry to take a photograph. The only way to get the latest news, often a day old, was ink on paper.
She's survived to live in a world where your phone can take a newsworthy picture and have it seen by people all over the world within seconds.
At the Genesee County Nursing Home, members of her family gathered a few days before her actual birthday on Wednesday to celebrate Hettrick's long life.
Hettrick, who first made news when she turned 100 at the Nursing Home, isn't communicative these days and tires easily, so beyond acknowledging some members of her family, she didn't talk about living to 110.
She will be, however, the fifth person alive in New York to reach the age of 110.
Hettrick was born and raised in Pavilion and, except for some college in New York City, has never lived outside of Genesee County.
Her grandfather was Noah Starr, one of the earliest farmers in the county, who bought his farmland from the Holland Land Office. The property was where Thelma was born and raised, in a farmhouse built by her father in 1890. Today, Randy and Cindy Starr farm that land (Randy and Cindy were planning on arriving at the birthday celebration a little later, so they weren't there for our pictures (see our previous story about the Starr farm)).
God bless you Thelma! :)
God bless you Thelma! :)