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Nature and its perennial gifts.

(Maria Shine Stewart)

Maria Shine Stewart

LYNDHURST, Ohio--Yellow-green leaves on a stately pin oak on Richmond Road flutter in the May sunlight. That tree flourishes after a long winter. And just a stone's throw away, Marie Spiegel Kreger sits in a wheelchair at home, bird watching through the window and enjoying the company of her cat. Kreger greets me with a radiant smile and wearing a shirt in pink, her favorite color, accented with some embroidery hinting at her love of flowers.

"I feel just about the same as I always did," this Lyndhurst resident says in answer to my first question. She is 99 years young.

Traffic may rush nearby, yet this joyful woman with snow white hair listens raptly, observes carefully and chooses her words precisely.

Saying "I don't know" to an occasional question with her dazzling smile, I guess she actually does know -- but is pondering. And often when she speaks, she offers a gem about the past while clearly focused in the present. Kreger's favorite flower, lilies of the valley, are in a small vase to her left. Like other women in her remarkable age group, Kreger has a reassuring presence. Her smooth face and friendly attention make me feel, almost, as if time can stand still.

Marie Kreger

She entered this world in this very house on August 6, 1914. That is 8-6-14 . The numbers add up perfectly.

And though she claims algebra was the school subject she struggled with, she seems to have a memory for numbers.

How many were in her high school class, the first-ever at Charles F. Brush High? "There were fifty," she says decisively. Her hazel-blue eyes sparkle.

I soon become part of a four-way discussion, with Kreger's youngest daughter and son-in-law chiming in. History is as close as we let it be. Kreger's daughter Martha and son-in-law Lou Kulis are about to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary; they all live together. Martha's 104-year-old wedding dress was worn by both Marie and Marie's mother at their weddings.

Martha was formerly a floral designer; Lou is a retired lieutenant from the South Euclid police department. Not far away are Kreger's daughter Carol in Northfield and son Ken in Willoughby. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren extend the branches of this family tree further, and Kreger used to enjoy cooking for the brood on Thursday nights to bring them back home.

I ask: Are you a planner? Kreger agrees. "I liked to know what I was going to do." And she still has an appetite. "You will eat anything that doesn't eat you first," Lou jokes. Other interests? "I liked to sew," she recalls. "I usually made clothes and quilts." The dining room was a place for Lyndhurst Community Presbyterian Church quilting get togethers..

As I piece together Kreger's memories of farming, stores and people--many in the heart of Lyndhurst--I wonder: Has the world changed that much? My own heart answers: Only if we let it.

Marie Kreger exudes peace. I noticed that she possesses the Duchenne smile. Some positive psychology research suggests that those with this mark of beauty may live longer.

She used to sell bags of lima beans grown and shelled right here for ... how much? "Twenty-five cents," is her reply. She remembers picking strawberries with friends; open fields offered a place for both work and play. "There was nothing over there," she says, signaling east. She loved to play dolls "and would sew clothes for my dolls." Frances Payne Bolton, noted Clevelander, used to "invite the little girls for tea," Martha adds.

Kreger's father, John Spiegel, was a butcher with the slaughterhouse on the property; a cow was a pet. Her mother had arrived in the U.S. at the tender age of four from Germany. "My grandpa bartered meat for sugar and flour," Martha adds. If you wonder whether Kreger ventured away from this homestead built in 1894, the answer is yes. For years she lived next door. Her husband Earl died in 1995; this house was eventually adapted for her accessibility.

Researchers are interested in the 90 to 100 bracket. What promotes longevity? Social connectedness. A sincere good attitude. An active mind. Kreger eagerly answers questions on "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune," her son-in-law Lou points out. "And we call her the 'Yahtzee Queen.'"

Seeds of her love of reading were planted in the Little Red School House, which she attended. She wanted to go to college, but money was scarce. What vocation would she have pursued, given the chance?

"Kindergarten teacher," was her quick reply.

And it is not hard to imagine a beloved Mrs. Kreger surrounded by adoring children.

Lyndhurst Garden Club Perennial Sale: This annual fundraiser will be on Saturday, May 31 at the Little Red School House on Richmond Road, behind the SE-L Board of Education Building at 5044 Mayfield Road. Plants are from members' own backyards and affordable! 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"Every Plant Has a Purpose": Fiddling plus story telling with Foster Brown as "old-time herbalist Dr. Wildweed" begins at 8 p.m., Thursday, June 5, following the Lyndhurst Garden Club's business meeting at 7 p.m. at the Lyndhurst Commuinty Center, 1341 Parkview Road. Free.