Eric Shackle's Column
By
Eric Shackle
Centenarian Columnist's Californian
Comeback
Frank Pelatowski boldly stakes his claim on the
Net
New Page 1
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Thirty years ago Californian Frank
Pelatowski decided that as he had reached the age
of 70 he would stop
writing his weekly column in his local newspaper, the
Mariposa
Gazette, and enjoy retired life. Now, as a
sprightly centenarian, he
has revived the feature, which means he is probably
the world's oldest
columnist.
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His nearest rivals for the title are thought to be
Australia's Ken
Sillcock (97) and Britain's Henry
Jackson (95).
"I decided to come back because I've lived long enough
to set one record
and the Gazette has been in print long enough to set
another," he says.
"You see, not only is the Gazette an old paper, it's
the oldest
continuously-published weekly newspaper in all of
California. On Jan. 20, 2004
it turned 150 years old, having never missed an
issue."
"Some people say I have a lot of energy for a
100-year-old man. They may be
right. I'm not only going to write new columns, but I'm
still doing other
writing, including a book titled "The Wit and Wisdom
of Frank Pelatowski,"
which will be in bookstores later this year."
Frank was born in Massachusetts on Aug. 10, 1907, when
Theodore Roosevelt was
his nation's president. His parents were Polish immigrants.
He grew up in
Connecticut, with 10 brothers and sisters.
In 1923, after leaving High School at 16, he joined the
U.S. Navy -- so young
that he needed a note from his parents. He served on the
then new battleship USS
West Virginia, cruising down the Atlantic coast,
through the Panama Canal
and across the Pacific Ocean to Australia and New
Zealand.
Nearly 20 years later, in World War II, the Navy recalled
him to serve a second
term, as a chief petty officer.
Here are extracts from http://pelatowski.com/ Frank's website:
I've been married twice, both wives died while
married to me. I have no
children, but consider many children to be like
grandchildren to me.
Like my father before me, I spent most of my life
as a builder. I was
also involved in the community; I even ran for
office once - and lost.
That was enough of politics; but I served for years
as an officer in the
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Lions Club and other
groups right here in
Mariposa.
I've been a writer all my life, and my work has
appeared in several
publications. I've completed children's books and
have two or three
unfinished manuscripts in my files.
Though I moved 'down the hill' and have lived in
Merced for many years,
I have fond memories of Mariposa County and have
many friends in the
area.
I'm hoping to visit often, to renew old friendships
and create new ones.
I want to meet Gazette readers and learn about
their lives.
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Here's
Another Centenarian
Journalist! |
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Mildred Heath, of Overton,
Nebraska, is only five
months younger than Frank
Pelatowski. Born on Jan.
4, 1908, she works five days
a week as the Overton
correspondent of the Beacon
(Nebraska) Observer.
She may be the world's oldest
working journalist,
but her present job does not
qualify her to
compete for the 'oldest
columnist' crown.
'Residents of Overton, a farm
town of 646 people
east of Lexington, marvel at
Heath's energy,' says
Omaha World-Herald staff
writer Paul
Hammel. 'The only
concession to her 100 years
is an electric scooter she
rides one block to
work. She broke her hip five
or six years ago...
'Her main chores are
answering the phone and
filing photographs, although
she still calls local
residents to check for news
of their families. She
asks most people to write up
their items and drop
them off at the paper, but
she still uses an
electric typewriter
regularly.' |
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Frank lives in an old folks' home in Merced. Like
most centenarians, he
has failing eyesight. He dictates his columns to his
friend and fellow
writer David Burke, who hopes to syndicate them to
other newspapers as
well.
Frank's first column written after he turned 100 was
titled World's
oldest column returns to the Gazette.
His second column was a nostalgic story about his
Navy days, called Rollin'
in my sweet hammock's arms.
Frank has also made a YouTube
video that's well worth checking out here.
He says he likes writing stories with happy
endings.
FOOTNOTES. Merced (population 210,554) is a county in
California's Central
Valley, north of Fresno and and southeast of San
Jose. Mariposa
(population 1,373) is the county seat (administrative
center) of Mariposa
County. Its name is the Spanish word for 'butterfly',
after early
explorers saw flocks of
Monarch
butterflies there. Mariposa and Merced, 40 miles
apart, both call
themselves 'The Gateway to Yosemite.' Mariposa being
30 miles from the
national park.
The passenger liner SS (Steam Ship) Mariposa
maintained a regular service
linking the US west coast with Australia and New
Zealand before WWII, when
she became a
US
Navy transport troopship.
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Published 2008-03-15 14:54 (KST)
Click on author's byline for bio and list of other works
published by Pencil Stubs Online.
also published in OhmyNews May 2008
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