Super centenarian

by Sherri McGee of Minden

Special to The R-C

Avice Clarke celebrated her 110th birthday with an old-fashioned English tea party on May 17. Avice was born in Nelson, Lancashire, Great Britain on May 17, 1900, and currently lives in Placerville, Calif. She celebrated her birthday with her 89-year-old son Norman, her great-niece Diana Walcom of Gardnerville, and her great-great-niece Sherri McGee (Cole) of Minden.

At 110 years of age Avice is only lacking in her ability to stand on a "bum knee" but she is confident that her physical therapy will have her up and moving in no time. Avice spent the day reminiscing about her earlier life. She talked about her teenage years in England working at a bandage factory during World War I and how the Germans attempted to bomb the factory from a zeppelin. The bomb landed in the canal next to their building and knocked out the electricity which caused all the machinery to come to a halt. She said it was dark and quiet but soon they could hear the American and British planes flying overhead. She said the planes would chase the zeppelins out of the area and sometimes shoot them down. She told of how her mother wanted more opportunities for her children who would go to school by day and work in the factories at night. The family did whatever they could to save their money to go to America.

In 1920, the Clarke family - Avice along with her mother, father, three sisters and a brother - immigrated to America aboard the R.M.S. Carmania. She talked of the third-class accommodations below decks. The pipes ran overhead and at night the rats would run back and forth on them making it difficult to sleep. She also said that there was a lot of theft on board and they couldn't leave their possessions unattended. She said the third-class English were located on one end of the boat and the Irish were located on the other end. She said, the Irish had no qualms with walking right up to your table and taking your food. She said one day she caused a ruckus when three Irish boys walked up and took her potatoes because she was very hungry that day. The steward approached Avice and asked what was wrong. When she told her story the steward brought her some more food. Avice laughed and said, "That's because the boat crew didn't want to mess with the Irish either!"

Their previous neighbors in Britain had moved to America the year prior and sent word that once the family arrived in America they should come straight to San Francisco and not stop anywhere else. Once they received clearance on Ellis Island they boarded a train to California. Avice said the family hugged with excitement as they passed a sign which had a large brown bear on it that said, "Welcome to California, population 6 million." Their former neighbors had arranged for her father to have a job as a gardener for a wealthy family in San Francisco. Avice, being 19 years old, went to work at the Palace Hotel assisting the cook in the restaurant. Her siblings, Edith, Elsie, Annie and Frank, were younger than Avice and were enrolled in school. She said that her siblings were so happy that they "only had to go to school" and didn't have to work at night. Avice soon married a young man from Pleasanton and thereby became a dual citizen of America and Britain, however, Avice indicated that in 1923 the law was changed and you could no longer hold dual citizenship. Since Avice is a centenarian and also a citizen of Great Britain she receives a birthday card every year from the Queen of England. She had the cards proudly displayed along with her birthday flowers and gifts.

Avice continued to tell stories throughout the day about her family, siblings and life adventures. She traveled to many places including her regular stops in England to see her family and friends. However, she could no longer travel alone after she turned 99 years old because she became unable to manage her luggage on those long trips.

Avice has other relatives in the Reno/Tahoe area, who are descendants of her sister Edith who lived to just shy of her 100th birthday, including great-great-nephew Chuck Cole and his wife Debbie Cole, and their son great-great-great nephew David Cole of Gardnerville; great-great-great-nephew Steven Minifie of Reno; great-great-great-niece Amy Johnstone (Minifie) and husband Ryan Johnstone and their children great-great-great-great-nephews Christopher and Kaden Johnstone of Minden.

When asked how she feels, Avice said, "I feel great! I feel like I could keep on living and living."