On the record with ... Goldie Stillson
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| Antioch resident Goldie Stillson will turn 100 years old Saturday, June 13. (Colin Selbo – cselbo@nwnewsgroup.com) |
When Goldie Stillson celebrates her birthday Saturday, June 13, it will be the 100th time she's had the opportunity to blow out the candles and make a birthday wish.
The soon-to-be centenarian moved to Antioch in 1934 in the middle of the Great Depression. She worked as a first-grade teacher in Lake County, including 18 years at BJ Hooper Elementary School, in Lindenhurst.
Stillson also has traveled the world, spending time in exotic locales such as Iran, Singapore and Australia.
Today, she spends her time crocheting, reading and watching her favorite reality TV shows.
Stillson recently went on the record with Lake County Journal reporter Colin Selbo to discuss her life and what it's like to hit the century mark.
Selbo: How does it feel to be turning 100 years old?
Stillson: I don't feel 100 ... No, because I'm active. I don't have to have a walker, thank God. And eyesight. Because I can read the newspaper without my glasses. I think maybe that's the worst thing – when you can't watch TV, and you can't read. I read a lot.
Selbo: Did you ever think you would reach 100 years old?
Stillson: No. Never in those days did I ever think of it. You know, I bought bonds and stuff for my kids. I never thought that I would live so long and that it would take them that long to get them. I don't think young people think about getting old.
Selbo: How did you first come to live in Antioch?
Stillson: My husband signed [to teach in Antioch] unseen, unknown, no picture, no anything to move here from South Dakota. But you see the Depression was on in South Dakota long before it was here. And he was going to be cut in salary, and here he got a couple hundred dollars more.
Selbo: And what did you start doing?
Stillson: Well, I had a 2-year-old son, so I didn't do anything the first year. Then I started subbing. And I took the [teacher's certification] test and started subbing. My next door neighbor took care of our son so I could sub.
Selbo: What did you enjoy about teaching?
Stillson: Oh, the little kids. To teach them to read. See, to start with, they didn't have kindergarten. So, they came from home, little babies, crying for their mommies and things like that ... And you teach them to read. That's the most important thing. And numbers, how to count. Without TV in those days, they didn't learn as much at home like they do now a days. So, they're just fresh babies when they come. I think that's why I liked it ... I think that the reason I picked first grade is because when I was in high school, I was a substitute teacher. It was a small school. But for two weeks, I had first, second and third grade there. Then I had all my high school studies besides. The high school was upstairs and the grade school was downstairs in this little town. So, if a teacher got sick or something, [they said] "Goldie go downstairs."
Selbo: Where have you traveled during your life?
Stillson: One summer, my son and his wife and my daughter, she was teaching in Iran. We went from here to Sweden and Norway, and hired a car and we zig-zaged all the way across Europe. So, we went to all these little villages, and everything, besides going to Paris and the follies and all that stuff ... Then my daughter was in Yugoslavia for two years. So, I went there twice. And of course, you stop in countries on the way. And then Singapore. I got kicked out of Singapore ... because my visa was up.
Selbo: How have you seen Antioch change over the years?
Stillson: It has grown a great deal. They used to rely on the tourists in the summer time, because there wasn't so much to do in the wintertime. We were smaller. We didn't have these annexes all around. We knew everybody in town, after a short time. I belonged to a lot of clubs, and the church always helped.
Selbo: Do you think these these changes and growth is a good thing?
Stillson: Yes, but it doesn't leave the people as friendly as they used to be. We knew everybody, and now I don't even know the neighbors across the street.
Selbo: What do you remember about growing up?
Stillson: World War I. Some of the mothers wouldn't let me play with their children because my father was German. It was mostly Norwegians in our town. My mother was half-Norwegian and half-German. My dad was German, but he came over here when he was a baby. And here I was, a little girl, 7 or 8 years old. And the kids would stand upstairs and say, "Hi Goldie." And I would cry and cry ... I still see myself crying because I couldn't play with them ... I was always my dad's boy. I did outside work for him, carried in the wood or stuff like that. I worked in the garden. I chopped off my thumb – I still got my scar – when I worked in the garden.
Selbo: Do you think it's important to still keep up on what's happening in the world?
Stillson: Oh, yes. You need to know what's going on. And all this excuse, of the economy, for people holding up stores and all that. As far as I remember, that didn't happen during the Depression. People didn't have to turn to crime. But they claim they do now.
Selbo: What's been your secret to living such a long and active life?
Stillson: Well, I never smoked or drank. Even if I was a flapper girl, and we danced the Charleston and all that ... But that's one thing, I never [drank.] And that's so important for kids not to start this drinking. And you never heard of drugs in those days. But I think just eating healthy. We always had dinner every night. The family dinner, which now so many people don't have. And it was always meat and potatoes and vegetables and desert. So we ate well, we ate healthy. So, that might be it, and outdoor work probably.
Selbo: Is there still something you want to see or do in the world?
Stillson: No, I'm content with seeing the world. It is really surprising that a person from a little town in South Dakota has seen so much of the world ... When we came here, there were older people in Antioch that had never been out of Antioch. They had never been to Chicago ... Can you imagine that? With all the things there is to do in Chicago.
