There is a major error in the following newspaper story on my great-aunt's 100th birthday: her parents were Samuel Edward McBee and Sarah Catherine Wilcox McBee, but who always went by S.E. and Catherine. Otherwise, it's a great article with lots of anecdotes about her life. Susan Greetings to 100 By Kim Sullivan The Springfield News (Springfield, Oregon) Wednesday, October 9, 2002 Happy Birthday, Alice Kimball! On Saturday, friends and family are invited to Pleasant Hill High School from 2 to 5 p.m. to celebrate the 100th birthday of Alice (McBee) Kimball. After 99 birthday parties, she's not looking for presents, she said, but only the presence of family and friends. "My objective is greetings," Mrs. Kimball said. "And to be able to say, 'I hope you all have a good time.' " Born Oct. 14, 1902, to Ed and Katherine McBee, Alice was the youngest of 10 children. When she was 2 years old, Alice Kimball and her family moved to a 25-acre wooded area on South 28th Street, between the Millrace and the Willamette River. In a household with no TV, radio or other "modern" technology, family fun included picnics on the riverbanks with neighbors, playing hide and seek in nearby orchards, reading books from the library, or playing cards and dominoes. Chores took up a big chunk of time, too, Mrs. Kimball said. The family farm -- complete with vegetables, berries, peach and pear trees -- always needed weeding. And, of course, the cows needed milking. "I don't think it would be too popular with kids today," she said. When she was 6, she began walking the much-of-the-time muddy road to Maple School with her sisters and brothers. At that time, the school was often called "Mud College" because it was surrounded with water. (Today, Rosboro Lumber Co.'s office is in the original Maple School building.) "I remember kids needed boots to go to school," Mrs. Kimball reminisced. When she advanced to high school, it was a new world. Instead of having one teacher for all grades -- first through eighth -- students had one teacher for every subject. Back in the early 1900s, graduating seniors could choose to stay an extra year to prepare to become a teacher. Taught by Elizabeth PapZ(, Alice Kimball did well, doing her practicum work at nearby Lincoln School and earning 90 percent on the State Teacher Examination in 1919. "It used to be the substitute for Normal School," she said. "I always did wish I went to college. I'm sure we weren't as good then as the teachers are now." In 1920, she landed her first teaching contract at High Prairie School. Every day, she rode the train to Oakridge and was picked up by a school board member driving a wagon and mule team. Her salary was $75 a month with room and board $25 a month. Her first assignment involved teaching nine students in grades 1-8. After a year at High Prairie, she went on to teach at Trent School in Pleasant Hill for three years, followed by two years at an Oakridge school. While at Trent, she met the love of her life, a local logger named Don Kimball. The couple were married on July 1, 1924, and moved to Oakridge. In 1934, the Kimballs and their two sons, Donovan and Keith, moved back to the Trent area where Don Kimball joined his brothers to form Kimball Brothers Logging Co. A few years later, Karmen and Eunice were born, completing the family of four. Mrs. Kimball's influence is evident in her children's careers: All became involved in education and son Donovan, a retired administrator for the Springfield School District, serves on the Lane Education Service District board today. Her husband died in 1965, but the matriarch remains active in the lives of others, including her 13 grandchildren and dozens of great-grandchildren, "like the sands of the sea -- too numerous to count," she said. A woman who saw the invention of television when she was in her 20s, Mrs. Kimball said she doesn't have much use for computers or other technology. "My daughter bought me a calculator once and I used a pencil and paper just to check if it was right," she said. She said she remembers a time when it was big news to see an airplane overhead. "Somebody would let us know and we'd wait all afternoon, just to see one fly over," she said, with a laugh. One historical event that stands out in her mind, she said, is the landing on the moon in 1969. "I didn't think that would ever be possible," she said. Throughout her life, Alice Kimball has been known for her compassion and caring for others. Her son Donovan said a pie or pan of rolls frequently found its way from his mother's kitchen to a family facing financial difficulties. Her life has also included several years of service to Trent Church of Christ, where she has been a Sunday school teacher, superintendent of Sunday school, involved in Vacation Bible School, an officer in the Ladies Aid Society and a member of the Missionary Committee. Mrs. Kimball, who has never smoked or tasted alcohol, still attends church regularly and can often be seen with a group of friends who gather at the local Dairy Queen, "just to visit and have fun," she said. She is blessed with good friends and family who care for her, and good health, she said. "I feel that I have led a good life," she said. "I have been fortunate enough to meet so many nice people."