[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 7 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E96]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING CENTENARIAN VERA WENTWORTH OF HERNANDO COUNTY, FLORIDA

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                         HON. GINNY BROWN-WAITE

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 12, 2007

  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
honor Vera Wentworth of Hernando County, FL. Vera has done something 
that all of us strive to do, but that very few of us will ever 
accomplish, celebrate her 100th birthday. Born December 19, 1906 in 
Hartland, ME, Vera received her degree in the 1920s from a college in 
Farmington, ME. One of the early teachers who worked in a one-room 
schoolhouse, Vera kept a pot-belly stove filled with wood to keep the 
children warm. As a testament to the hardiness of Maine residents, Vera 
taught at different schools throughout Maine for 49 years. Her fondest 
childhood memory was the day her father bought her a new car while she 
was in college.
  Married to Neal Felker in the early 1920s, Vera was blessed with 
three children, two boys and one girl. While her husband sadly passed 
away in the late 1940s, Vera remarried Harold Wentworth in 1954. She 
also raised Harold's 2-year old son, and she now has a combination of 
seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
  Vera gets the most pleasure these days from being with her family. 
Although she lived alone surviving cold winters in Maine till she was 
97 years old, she moved to Hernando County in 2002 to be closer to her 
daughter and her son-in-law. Vera's daughter says the proudest moments 
in her mother's life was the ability to teach for 49 years, and that 
she would have taught longer if they didn't require her to retire.
  Vera's advice to young people today is, ``go to church, respect your 
parents and get an education.'' Madam Speaker, I ask that you join me 
in honoring Vera Wentworth for reaching her 100th birthday. I hope we 
all have the good fortune to live as long as her.

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