Cambridge woman celebrates 100th birthday with family, memories and Elvis
A woman born and raised in Cambridge is celebrating her 100th birthday, and she credits a few things for how she's made it to this age.
Friends and family will be gathering at a Puslinch venue today to celebrate Ruth Baverstock’s 100th birthday–there will even be a local Elvis impersonator joining in on the big day.
Baverstock was born in Hespeler on Aug. 10, 1925 to Bertha and Gordon Mather. She was one of seven children, a sister to three brothers and three sisters, and she is survived by her younger brother David who is 89 years-old.
She attended what was then Maple Grove Public School built in 1859, which is considered one of the oldest schools in the region. The school then became a staff training centre for the school board but the building is now home to BrightPath Maple Grove Child Care Centre.
Then came 1939, the start of the Second World War. Although she was only 14 years-old, she says she still remembers what it was like to ration supplies, and hearing news of her friends and family who went off to war.
“My best friend was killed, and my brother-in-law was hurt real bad,” she says.
“He carried the bullets all his life.”