Your Birthday Wish – Granted

If you were 101 years old and could go anywhere to celebrate your birthday, what would be your No. 1 request? Well, in the case of Elizabeth Carroll Cheetham, of St. Augustine, her request was Cedar Key and her family made it happen. The weekend before Thanksgiving, her two sons and extended family pulled into their vacation rental overlooking the back bayou and started celebrating until late Sunday afternoon.

Elizabeth was born 101 years ago in Baltimore, but was raised in Detroit, with her sister Peg. When she was a a Senior in high school, she ran into a male friend who was riding in a car with another fellow and they offered her a ride home. Well, the older fellow took a detour by his own home where he promptly introduced her to his mother as, "My new girlfriend." This cheeky fellow was Gordon "Rex" Cheetham. They married and went on to have two sons - Tom and Jack. When Rex retired, they moved to Florida. When she was in her 80s, after he died, she bought herself a condo in St. Augustine.

Her granddaughter, Kate, says that, her grandmother "Didn`t think that anyone would give a 30 year mortgage to a woman in her mid-80s but they did!" Elizabeth really enjoys living at home alone. She uses a cane and only gave up driving about six months ago - laughing she said, "my drivers license doesn`t expire for about four more years!" Her sense of humor is still working well.

Around 1950 the entire family visited Cedar Key for the first time, without reservations, and could not find a place to stay. Someone told them about that little place over the water - The Honeymoon Cottage. But they only stayed in it one night because Elizabeth says that it swayed in the wind all night long. And, you had to walk out to it on a two-board wide catwalk with a wire "handrail." They found better lodging for the rest of their stay and visited another dozen times, or so.

She says that one good thing about being 101 is that "I get up when I want and I take lots of naps...and enjoys a good steak." Sounds like good advice for all of us.