Pine Knot News - A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news

There are lots of birthdays this month at Villa Vista and Cardinal Court in Cromwell.

Roy Miller, formerly of Meadowlands, marked his 100th birthday on Oct. 8. He is living at the Cardinal Court and enjoys the company of many new friends. Roy was 72 years old when he got his first bicycle. It was a 21-speed mountain bike, although he says he never got it out of third gear.

Larry (Lawrence Peter William) Switzer, 93, of the Cardinal Court, was born Oct. 4, 1927, in the Kettle River area. He went to Kalevala School until the 8th grade, then Barnum for a week, and then quit. He made his home in Moose Lake one block from the lake. He spent his adult years farming, driving a school bus a few years, and then working in the creamery in Moose Lake. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, dancing, and traveling with his wife to Texas in the winters. He made many special trips to Canada with Clarence Aho over the years. Now he really enjoys playing bingo at Cardinal Court. Larry was a steady churchgoer and walked to church every Sunday. He attributes his longevity to hard work.

Elsa Romanek, 93, was born Sept. 2, 1927. As a child, she especially enjoyed her cats and staying overnight with her grandmother. She went to school in Cedar Valley. She married Peter Romanek, and they have four children, David, Phil, Grace and Ramona. As an adult, she enjoyed playing cards with friends in the evenings, many times until 1 or 2 in the morning. She spent her working years as a store clerk and nurse’s aide. Her favorite thing to do now is reading, but she was known for scrubbing floors, making her own clothes, and baking. She attributes her long life to Finnish sisu.

Dagny Quarastrom turned 90 on Sept. 11. She says she was too mean to ever get married. She likes to watch television and put jigsaw puzzles together. She says growing up she didn’t have toys, so had to make up fun. When asked about her longevity, she said “just lucky, I guess.” She said she stayed away from alcohol and just minded her own business.

Lorraine Ahonen Rhode, of the Cardinal Court, celebrated her 92nd birthday on Sept. 11. Her dad taught her to drive a truck and run other equipment, as he owned a sawmill when she was growing up. She graduated from Hill City High School in 1941. She was 24 years old when she went to work with the government, spending 30 years in civil service, mostly as an Air Force engineering technician. She was the only woman in a man’s job. She was known as being good at her job and being just one of the guys. She traveled with her husband, Al, and even lived in Hawaii for two years. She attributes her long life to “being a Finlander, I guess.”