Speaking to the 100
year old Lorna Ruppel was an experience much different than any other
interviews I've done. I must admit, I didn't aim to speak
specifically to her at first, just someone who was over 100. I had
the idea that it would be an incredible experience, and it was.
Someone who has lived in the past 100 years or more (as in,
1912-2013), such as Lorna, has experienced some of histories greatest
inventions or moments, and some of our darkest too. Think of the
things that have happened; born just before the First World War,
entered teenage years at the beginning of the Great Depression, was
in her mid-twenties when World War Two began, and saw inventions such
as cars, computers, phones and televisions develop to the level that
no one could of ever predicted when she was born. I mean, the
internet wasn't even made publicly available until she was 80!
The set up was a bit
different that I had ever experienced, also. That is, it wasn't just
me that had the chance to ask some questions. There was Lorna's
daughter-in-law, her great-grandaughter, even my photographer had the
chance to ask some questions. When the first part of the interview
was done, even more people joined us. Another daughter-in-law, a
granddaughter, a grandson-in-law, a pet cat. All ready to tell me
stories, adventures, and experiences they've had with the lovely lady
I had the chance to meet that they themselves had the chance to call
“mom”, “grandma”, or “great-grandma.” Or, in the cats
case, just bug me to be pet. It was a time of assorted stories as
opposed to a straight life story, but I loved that I could hear it
nonetheless. For your enjoyment, here are some stories of the
wonderful, nearly 101 year old, Lorna Ruppel.
Lorna was born on
November 8th, 1912 in Ottawa, although birthdays aren't
really thought about much these days. Growing up, she was in lucky in
regards to the fact that her father never had to go fight in Europe,
but that doesn't mean she doesn't have memories of the Great War that
was happening between the time she was two and six. By the family
house was a park, and in this park, soldiers routinely marched and
practised drills to go, and possibly die, for Canada.
Her father was an
accountant, but her mother was the real business lady. This luck of
being employed lasted into her late-teens, when the Great Depression
spread across the World. But as she said, mother saved them from the
Depression trials. By then, the family lived in the Kitchener area,
and owned a dry-cleaning business, the brain child of her mother. She
recalled how things were really difficult, people were troubled, but
her parents and family made it, year by year.
Just before the
Depression though, Lorna recalls how her mother made her get
a job. As she said, “you were supposed to be 16 to get a job, but
when I was 15, my mother told me I had to get one myself.” So, at
age 15, she became a Bell telephone operator and that was that, a job
she'd continue as long as she could remember. As she described, “she
kept her nose to the grindstone and stayed out of mischief”, even
when the news came that Canada was entering what would be then known
as the Second World War. She can't recall personally helping with the
war effort, she can't recall hearing about some of the big events in
the news such as Dieppe Raid or D-Day, but the reaction when the war
ended? That, she remembered. People stormed the streets, cheers
abound, banging their pots and pans together, just happy that after
nearly six years, the war was finally over.
Lorna telling her story
Photo by Victoria Alexander
One
story from her life that Lorna mentioned to me, with a little bit of
a reminder from her daughter-in-law, happened during the years of
World War Two. From what she mentioned, and from what I was told from
her family, she was head over heels for her husband, Homer (although,
she wasn't a fan of the name Homer at all). They first met when she
lived in Kitchener. A few properties down the street from them was a
tennis court, where Homer and his sister would play tennis. Lorna and
her sister would go down there sometimes to play as well. Well,
that's the story she told at least. Her granddaughter told me she
always found it odd how Lorna only brought one racquet between the
two of them, a coincidental conversation starter with the boy whom
she would later marry. When World War Two came along, her husband was
sent to be trained to go to Europe and fight (which is luckily never
had to do). While training in Chilliwack, British Colombia, Lorna
with her young two-year-old child, missed him more than she could
imagine. So what did she do? She sold her house, boarded the train
with her two-year-old son in tow, and surprised her husband at the
military base.
Unfortunately,
she couldn't stay on the base with him, so she took up a room in a
hotel, where Homer would visit when he could. As the money started to
decline, she realized she had to leave the hotel. She gathered a few
of her possessions, and with her son, amidst the Fall rains, she
stayed at a local park for a few nights. Just the two of them,
spending some solitary nights together alone and vulnerable. It
wasn't very safe, and it wasn't the best for her child, but it was
all they could do. She realized she had to find something else. The
park wasn't safe, the hotel was to expensive, so she started knocking
on doors, asking for a place to stay. Right when she was about to
give up from all the no's she received.. someone said yes, and they
were saved. After a sad Christmas missing home, she went back to
Kitchener (shaking her head that she didn't consider just renting the
house out), and moved into an apartment. Later she would be reunited
with her husband Homer, and in a few years she would have her second
son, making the family complete.
It's
stories like these that I love hearing. When I asked “what's life
like now”, she replied with a sigh and a smile saying “well, life
is good.” She spends her days making dolls, reading her mystery
books and watching curling. She enjoys beating her children-in-law,
her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren at cards (she always
wins) and occasionally listening to big bands on the radio (Lawrence
Welk was always a favourite). To me, she seems like an amazingly
happy lady, and probably one of the sweetest people I had ever met.
To
me, she taught me the valuable lesson of “not judging a book by the
cover”. She may be a 100 year old lady now. But she was also the
little girl watching the soldiers train, she was the teenager who
“forgot her second racquet”, she was the loving mother and wife
who traveled thousands of kilometers across the country to be with
the person she loved (even if it meant a few nights in a park), she's
the lady who has never touched a computer, the lady who happens to be
a direct descendant of Mr John McIntosh (the founder of the McIntosh
Apple), and now the loving great-grandmother of a friend of mine.
I
asked what being Canadian meant to her, a question I always ask at
the end of an interview. She told me it was wonderful, “great to be
a Canadian” in her eyes. She felt somehow more comfortable with the
thought of living in Canada, and in 100 years, has never considered
leaving. Sure, troubles arose in her life. They always will, no
matter who you are. But she told me that “all these problems came
up, but I was always able to cope. I always was able.” Lorna Ruppel
is an amazing lady, and although I'm a six months early.. I would
love to wish Lorna a happy 101st
birthday!
100-Year-Old Lorna Ruppel, her great-granddaughter, and myself.
Photo by Victoria Alexander
Wonderful story Cody!!
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