Sussex Post News Editor

MILLSBORO — Estelle Olsen remembers the end of World War I.

"I had the Spanish influenza and I was in bed for a month. I was still there when I heard all the bells ringing," she said.

Ms. Olsen turned 102 on Nov. 2. The Millsboro resident remains alert and vigorous, keeping abreast of politics and joking with reporters about editing stories. "I’m still interested in what goes on in the world," she said.

In World War I, she sold Liberty Bonds door to door. In World War II, she planted a victory garden. She remembers lamplighters, doctors making house calls and insurance agents who came to the door and sold policies for a nickel or a dime a month.

She grew up in Long Island, N.Y., spent time in Chicago and now lives in Millsboro. Her father was a plumber who when he first married, made $12.50 a week. "He said when he made $50 a week, he would retire. But with four kids, he changed his mind," she joked.

It was a time when a man’s word was his bond and a handshake was more than enough to seal a business deal. She fondly remembers those days and says there was much to recommend a simpler time. "I like the honesty and truth and respect that is absent today," she said. "That’s when the family made sure they lived and enjoyed together."

She is reluctant to criticize others or to give advice to young people, fearing it could be taken the wrong way. "Let’s just say I’m old fashioned," she said, smiling graciously.

The youngest of four siblings, she worked for more than 25 years as executive secretary at Sperry Gyroscope. "I worked my way up," she said. "I started as a file clerk."

She enjoyed her work, although it almost caused her a problem one weekend during World War II. She and a group of three friends were staying at a beach house owned by a company executive. "It was a beautiful night, so the four of us thought why don’t we go for a walk? Well, we didn’t go very far before we were greeted with ‘Halt, who goes there, friend or foe?"’, she remembered.

They had forgotten about the wartime blackouts and restrictions and had to be taken to the Justice of the Peace to explain why they were walking along the beach at night. Then, to further complicate things, they were stopped a second time because they were in a new car and the headlights had not been blacked out to comply with wartime lighting restrictions.

She was once offered another job working at the United Nations, but turned it down because she enjoyed her job too much.

Times were often hard and people had to make do with what they had, she said. Her mother cooked Spam, one of the few meats available, in a multitude of ways. "My mother learned to make almost anything with Spam until you got tired of looking at it," she said.

Her mother also made her own laundry starch and she once made it too thick. "My skirt was standing up by itself," she joked.

She says her secret to long life starts with her genes. Her mother lived to be more than 102, according to her son Ed Johnson. Beyond that, she said she "lives the natural way. I have a chiropracter and reflexologist, take supplements and eat carefully. And, I avoid doctors. The natural way is the best way."

Pressed by her family, she jokes that a glass or two of red wine a day is also nice.

Her birthday cake, when she was 100, came complete with 100 candles. "It took three of the fellows to light it all at the same time," she laughed.