DEN-MAR GARDENS - In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt was our 26th president, Shamokin had been incorporated for just 42 years, and Dollie Schroyer was born.
Schroyer, a Coal Township native, will turn 105 at 11:58 p.m. New Year's Eve.
She has lived to see 19 U.S. presidents, several global conflicts, The Great Depression, the moon landing and the creation of one of her favorite foods - the Whopper Junior.
She is believed to be the oldest living resident of Northumberland County.
"Oh my, a lot of change," Schroyer said.
"(The) outhouses were wood," she added with a laugh.
Both Shamokin Mayor George Rozinskie and Kulpmont Mayor Myron F. Turlis declared Thursday as "Dollie Schroyer Day" at a birthday celebration held Thursday afternoon at Serenity Gardens, where Schroyer shares a room with her 88-year-old daughter, June Noll.
Proclamations were read by Rozinskie, Turlis, Northumberland County Commissioners Frank Sawicki and Vinny Clausi and commissioner-elect Rick Shoch; state Rep. Kurt Masser (R-107), Area Agency on Aging Deputy Administrator Pat Rosini; Pam Earley, representing the local office of state Sen. John R. Gordner (R-27), and Mount Carmel Athletic Director Greg Sacavage, who declared Schroyer an honorary sports captain for the school's teams.
The party was held in the recreation room, which was filled with balloons, a large birthday cake and roughly 300 birthday cards, including more than 200 created by students in the Mount Carmel Area School District, and those from Schoyer's family, which now spans five generations.
She thanked everyone who wished her a happy birthday, although at times she had to ask, "Who are you?"
Upbringing
Born in her Walnut Street home in Coal Township, she is the sole survivor of 11 children born to Charles and Clara Culp. She married Walter (Babe) Schroyer on July 21, 1922, in Shamokin. They had two sons, the late Lester and Walter (Wimp), and two daughters, Noll and Jane Heller, 82. She has nine grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and six great-great grandchildren, Erin and Ian Drumheller; Hayley Moyer; Benjamin Farrow; and Gabriel and McKenna Stitzel.
In April, Schroyer moved to Serenity Gardens from the Coal Township High Rise, where she resided for 30 years. At Serenity Gardens, she continues to live an almost entirety independent life. Although she has problems hearing people who speak from a distance, she takes no pills and only recently started using a walker, said Serenity Gardens Activity Director Diane Dallazia.
"She used to cook for everyone at the high-rise," said Judith Drumheller, 69, her oldest granddaughter. "She also does her own check-booking."
Her daughters said their mother's smile is nothing short of infectious, and her humor, although subtle, is well intact.
Before retiring, Schroyer worked at Schaffer's Restaurant at Second and Water streets in Shamokin, and as a seamstress making wedding dresses and coats for "almost everyone." She also cared for her late husband who worked with explosives at several local coal mines.
'No smoking, no drinking'
Schroyer credits her long years to avoiding smoking and drinking and driving only once.
Heller recalled, "Our father let her get behind the wheel, but she did not realize the wheel was turned sharply to one side.
"She kept going around in circles until the car ran out of gas!"
Schroyer still enjoys playing cards, watching the Philadelphia Phillies and Penn State football, and eating maple walnut candy and long-john pastries.
"Even at 105, she still tells me what to do," said Heller. "She is a good mother. I am so blessed and thrilled to have her."