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It was a boot-scootin' birthday last Friday for three residents of Manor Care in Dunedin when the facility held a party for its oldest residents: Myrtle Maher, who was celebrating her 100th birthday; Ruth Smith, who has reached 101; and Otto Przybilski, the eldest at 104.
Myrtle Maher, a widow and retired secretary, was born Aug. 2, 1906. She has lived at Manor Care since July 1997 and before that lived in Dunedin.
Ruth Smith, also widowed and a former legal secretary, has lived at Manor Care since September 2004 and moved there from Clearwater. Her birth date is Aug. 6, 1905.
Otto Przybilski, who came to the United States in 1961 and became a citizen in 1961, was the oldest birthday celebrant. He was born on Aug. 17, 1902. A retired toolmaker and machinist, he has lived at Manor Care Health Services since September 1999 and previously lived in Dunedin.
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Birthdays for the month also included one at another facility in Largo, where Mary Obersheven, a former Seminole resident, was the star of the day.
On Aug. 9 she celebrated her 103rd birthday and told her life story to friends and staff at Sabal Palms Healthcare in Largo.
Mary explained to the gathering that, while unfortunately her family in California could not be present for the party, she considered them her true family.
The German immigrant was beaming when she showed off the special birthday card she had received from President George W. Bush.
She talked about growing up in the German town of Mulheim Ruhr Swrn, where she was the third of eight children: four boys and four girls.
She said her birth name was Mary Katherina Kothes and she came into the world on Aug. 9, 1903, and after graduating from high school, she went to work at an office.
Mary was 25 when she emigrated to America. She still remembers the date - March 9, 1928 - not too hard to forget because it was the day before she was married to Albert Obersheven.
The couple lived in Chicago, where Albert worked as a tool and diemaker, retiring 40 years later.
Mary went to night school to learn English and then turned to her duties as a homemaker. In 1930 she gave birth to the couple's only child, a son, Kurt.
Then the couple came to Seminole, where they lived 27 years before moving to the Bardmoor area. They lived there for close to six years before moving to Sabal Palms.
The Obershevens had been married 72 years when Albert died in 2000.
Today, Mary has three grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.
She still enjoys writing letters, in both English and German. She especially likes to read and watch television and is always ready to play bingo or enjoy the parties and entertainment at the community that has become her home and her family.
For information or an anniversary form, call 727 445-4109. To submit an item, write to Betsy Bolger-Paulet, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. Fax forms to (727) 441-4119, or e-mail paulet@sptimes.com.