FROMONLINE | 2011-04-28

By Denice Rovira Hazlett
April 28, 2011
256

Summary: When 99-year-old Viola Trubee of Millersburg talked about her life so far, there was one word that popped up repeatedly--happy. Trubee, who will celebrate her 100th birthday on May 18th, has lived a rewarding life that she's delighted to talk about. Story: Viola Trubee was introduced to life as Viola Harbaugh, slipping into the world in 1911, just two weeks before the Titanic was launched. In her first year of life, Irving Berlin penned his first number one hit, Crisco shortening was unveiled, the first public elevator was introduced and Orville Wright soared above Kill Devil Hills for 9 minutes and 45 seconds. The average yearly income was a little over $900, a new car would set you back about a thousand bucks, and you could send a first-class letter for just two cents. During her lifetime, Trubee has seen the invention of stainless steel, band-aids, spiral bound notebooks, scotch tape and the ball-point pen. She has lived through four major wars and 18 presidents. Born eleven miles north of Dayton on May 18, 1911, Trubee spent her childhood in a happy, peaceful home where she and her five siblings entertained themselves with wagon rides and downhill sledding, and, during summers, harvested fruits and vegetables on their father's farm, a job for which he paid them just as he paid his regular workers. "We always thought that was a pretty good deal," said Trubee from her room at Sycamore Run Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Millersburg. "Strawberries were our favorite because they were the easiest to pick. But we didn't lounge around. We all worked and got along well. " Her family lived on the national road, the country's first federally funded interstate highway that stretched from Maryland to Illinois. One of Trubee's fondest memories was standing in front of their home in Brandt, Ohio at just six years old, waving at the soldiers as they marched off to World War I. Around that time, Trubee began what would become a lifelong love of education, beginning with her first two years in a two-room schoolhouse before centralized education began in the Bethel Township community. "We had a brand new building and lots of modern stuff, like a cafeteria where they served us plenty of vegetables and meats. There were large classrooms with thirty or more students. Ours was the first school in the area to use buses." Even as early as second grade, Trubee knew she wanted to be a schoolteacher. "I liked school all my life and I liked all of my teachers, so it was just natural. My parents, of course, encouraged me to do that. We were taught determination. Whatever we wanted to do, our parents encouraged us to give it a try." Education was important to Trubee's family. Her mother had studied music at Ohio Weslyan and was a dedicated church pianist, leaving her good-humored father to tend to the children during Sunday services. "He really cared for us during those times, was very good natured and kind, but didn't allow any foolishness. When we got to high school, he let us move across the aisle with the other young people, but he still kept an eagle eye on us." While Trubee was studying education at Cedarville College, she exchanged glances with Franklin Trubee across the room during chapel. "He was a very intelligent and good natured person. It happened that we walked across the campus to the education building at the same time, and that's how we got to know each other." She and Franklin Trubee continued to date, and Viola Trubee began her teaching career at the very school she attended in second grade, working as a substitute with third and fourth graders. When she and Reverend Franklin Trubee married in 1939, they moved to West Virginia where she learned an important lesson after hanging out laundry. "I wondered why no one else had their wash on the line, but I hung the laundry. The railroad tracks were in back of our home, and no sooner did I get the clothes up when along came the coal train. From then on, I learned to watch when other people did their laundry." Out of all of the things in life that Viola Trubee has done, from camp counseling to working with a community hunger task force to volunteering in Pomerene hospital's gift shop well into her 80's, her 26 years of teaching is what she found most rewarding. She never considered anything a challenge. If there was something she wanted to do, she said, she just did it. Trubee attributed her positive thinking to the way she was raised, saying that family is what she values most. Parents who want to raise happy children, she advised with a kindly wag of her finger and a big grin, should provide a good example by getting along well. "I never heard my parents argue. Our family didn't fuss or quarrel. We were very positive people and just didn't have anything to be angry about." That positive attitude likely has much to do with Trubee reaching 100 years of age, a milestone she will celebrate with her son Eldon, daughter-in-law Bonnie and two grandchildren. Trubee wears 100 well, and while she misses her days as a busy teacher and minister's wife, she still enjoys a measure of freedom. "I was always an active person, so it's hard to just sit in a chair. I'm fortunate that I can get around by myself, and I do have some independence. I look around and see how fortunate I am that I can do a lot of things other people can't do." Trubee's advice to young people? Do what you love. "Find the one positive thing that you really enjoy doing, one thing that's really worthwhile, and just do it." An open house and card shower will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2011, from 2 - 4 p.m. at Sycamore Run Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Cards may be sent to Mrs. Viola Trubee at Sycamore Run Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 6180 SR83, Millersburg, Ohio 44654.

FROMONLINE | 2011-04-28

Donna's Premier Lodging

The Inn at Walnut Creek