101 Years Old

My uncle Harry passed away this week on August 10th. He was 101 years old! He was my grandmothers (nana) brother in law and I have very fond memories of my visits with them all. I remember as a child he used to greet me with a "put 'er there partner" handshake and when I gripped his hand he would "wince" at the power of my 10 year old grip. He was unquestionably one of the kindest people I have ever known always with a smile on his face. Even though I hadn't seen him in over 15 years, when I saw a photograph of him in the paper celebrating his 100th anniversary last year, he looked the same as he did 30 years ago. He was born on September 9, 1908 used a laptop computer to surf the internet and lived through more historical events than you or I will ever dream of. From the First Model T Ford through countless wars including WWI & WWII, prohibition, numerous presidents you've studied in history class, inventions such as the computer, cell phone, internet, first men in space and on the moon, through segregation to the first African American President. Well done Harry!

Take a moment to look at the very "short list":

PRESIDENTS:

26. Theodore Roosevelt 27. William Howard Taft

28. Woodrow Wilson 29. Warren Harding

30. Calvin Coolidge 31. Herbert Hoover

32. Franklin D. Roosevelt 33. Harry S Truman

34. Dwight D. Eisenhower 35. John F. Kennedy

36. Lyndon Johnson 37. Richard Nixon

38. Gerald Ford 39. James Carter

40. Ronald Reagan 41. George H. W. Bush

42. William J. Clinton 43. George W. Bush

44. Barack H. Obama

EVENTS:(Full List of major events from 1900 to present can be found here:http://www.fun4birthdays.com/year/index.html)

Ford Model T. introduced.

Mother's Day is celebrated for the first time.

Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galaxies.

Mexican revolution begins

Charles Lindbergh makes first solo non-stop trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris.

First full-length "talkie" movie, The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson.

First trans-Atlantic telephone call, from New York to London.

Walt Disney makes his first animated cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse - "Plane Crazy".

New Mexico admitted as 47th US state.

Arizona admitted as 48th US State.

USA enters World War I.

Russian Revolution begins.

First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient.

Vitamin C isolated.

The Hindenburg disaster: The German airship, Hindenburg is destroyed by fire, 36 are killed

Invention of transistor.

Formation of NATO.

Korean War begins when Communist North Korea invades the South.

US Supreme Court rules against racial segregation in schools.

First McDonald's restaurant opens.

Oil discovered in Saudi Arabia.

Orson Welles causes panic when broadcasting his radio version of The War of the Worlds.

Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1 - first artificial satellite.

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor bringing, the USA into World War II.

United States tests first atomic bomb (Trinity Test), then later drops the first atomic Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, ending World War II.

The bikini introduced by Louis Reard in Paris.

Aviator, Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the X-1.

First ever Super Bowl

Dr Christiaan Bernard performs first heart transplant, Cape Town, South Africa.

Sesame Street is first broadcast.

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated.

Robert Kennedy assassinated.

Neil Armstrong is first man to walk on moon.

Intel introduces the 4004, the first microprocessor.

"Pong" introduces the video game craze.

First African American President elected.

HARRY CEDERLUND : SEPTEMBER 8, 1908 - AUGUST 10, 2008

Harry Cederlund was celebrated as Foxbor Mass's oldest resident and can read more about him at the below links:

http://www.foxbororeporter.com/articles/2009/08/16/obituaries/5464794.txt

http://www.wickedlocal.com/foxborough/homepage/x38160598/Harry-Cederland-recognized-as-Foxborough-s-eldest

http://web.maynard.ma.us/bostonpostcane/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bpcane-foxborough-ma-2009-04-reporter.pdf