For those in the know, my mother’s mother has just officially turned 100!
This woman is one of the most impressive and interesting people I know.
A master-knitter amongst far too many more things to enumerate, she’s traveled quite the path thus far. Everyone on the family has at least several things she’s knitted and all those who visit her know she continues to keep a sharp mind!
Suffice to say a little blog post can’t possibly do this woman justice!
My aunt Connie, Grandma’s most recent child (heh), sent out a cool list of things that happened in 1911, the year Grandma Smith was born, I thought I’d post them here!
Highlights of Events that took place in the year 1911
Jan 09 – Toronto born Mary Pickford (Gladys Smith) appears in her first IMP film, Their First Misunderstanding
Jan 11 – Record Alberta low temperature of -61.1C recorded at Fort Vermilion
Jan 16 – Pandora becomes first 2-man sailboat to round Cape Horn west to east
Jan 17 – First aircraft landing on board a ship, USS Pennsylvania by Eugene Ely.
Jan 20 – – King George V dies and is succeeded by Edward VIII
Jan 26 – Glenn Curtiss pilots first successful hydroplane
Jan 31 – Congress names San Francisco as Panama Canal opening celebration site
Feb 06 – Great fire destroys downtown Constantinople/Istanbul Turkey
Feb 06 – Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois
Mar 03 – The birth of Jean Harlow, American film star
Mar 07 – US sent 20,000 troops to Mexican border
Mar 21 – H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught 1850-1942 appointed the Canadian Governor General
Mar 26 – The birth of Tennessee Williams, American author
Mar 30 РL̦tschberg tunnel in Switzerland (13,735 meter) completed
Apr 05 – Waldorf W. Aster acquires the Daily Observer
Apr 12 – A non-stop London-Paris flight takes 3h56m
May 07 – Large demonstrations held in New York, demanding women’s right to vote
May 08 – Iceland gives the vote to women
May 15 – British house of commons accept Parliament Bill.
May 16 – Zeppelin “Deutscheland” wrecked at Dusseldorf
May 17 – The birth of Maureen O’Sullivan, American film actress
May 23 – New York Public Library building at 5th Avenue dedicated by President Taft
May 27 – Birth of Vincent Price, American film actor
May 29 – First Indianapolis 500 car race, Ray Harroun wins at 74.59 mph (120 kph)
Jun 22 – King George V of England crowned
Jul 04 – Ty Cobb goes 0 for 4 & ends a 40 game hit streak
Jul 08 – Nan Aspinwall is first woman to make solo transcontinental trip by horse
Jul 11 – A huge forest fire breaks out in Porcupine district near Timmins,ON. fanned by high winds into a 40 km long front. The fire takes 200 lives; over 3,000 left homeless; burns up 2200 sq. km, destroying the mining communities of South Porcupine, Cochrane and Goldlands
Jul 15 – Birth of Edward Shackleton, English explorer
Jul 16 – The birth of Ginger Rogers, American film actress/dancer
Aug 22 – Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre
Sep 04 – Garros sets world altitude record of 4,250 m (13,944 ft)
Sep 09 – The first airmail service (British Post Office)
Sep 22 – Cy Young at 44, wins his 511th & final game
Oct 4 – – John Young Monument unveiled
Oct 10 – Robert Borden becomes prime minister, replacing Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Nov 05 Calbraith Rodgers arrives in Pasadena completing first transcontinental airplane flight (49 days) (left Sheepshead Bay, NY, Sept 17) The flight lasted a whopping 82 hours, 4 minutes
Nov 12 – The birth of Rev. Chad Varah, Founder of the ‘Samaritans’
Dec 14 – Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his expedition of four companions, are the first to reach the South Pole and return safely.
Dec 30 – Sun Yat-sen is elected as the first president of the Republic of China.
But the most memorable event took place on January 3rd when Georgina Mae Johnston was born – and the world was forever changed!
Talk about some history or what!? Way to go Grandma Smith!