by Bea Peterson
In 1909 William Howard Taft was elected 27th President of the United States and Leverett LeBarron was born on LeBarron Road, Potter Hill, Hoosick, NY. Leverett still lives on LeBarron Road. On Sunday, December 13, more than 150 people helped him celebrate his 100th birthday at the Eagles Club in Hoosick Falls where Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino presented him with a congratulatory certificate from the County. He also received birthday greetings from President and Mrs. Obama and from the Town of Hoosick.
About the time Leverett was born the average worker was making $12.98 a week for 59 hours. Life expectancy for the 76 million Americans living in 46 states was about 47 years. There were 8,000 cars in the country and only 10 miles of paved roads.
In 1909 Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reached the North Pole, workers started pouring concrete for the Panama Canal, and construction of a Navy base at Pearl Harbor was begun. The first Lincoln head pennies were minted and “Shine On, Harvest Moon” by Ada Jones and Billy Murray was hit song #1.
Life Well Lived
Leverett was one of eight children. As a youth he helped his dad on the family farm. He attended a one room school house at the end of the road from the farm, near Route 7. He didn’t attend high school. “Never heard of such a thing,” he said with a laugh. During the depression, “I worked every place I could,” he recalled. His first car was a used 1924 Maxwell. The company was later taken over by Plymouth, he said. Entertainment for a young man was traveling 20 miles to round and square dances at Sturges on the Vermont/New York border. That’s where he met Margaret Prentiss of Bennington. They married in 1931. He was 21, she was 17. They raised their five children on LeBarron Road. When their home burned, they moved in with Leverett’s mom until he completed building a home for them himself. Over the years he drove a school bus, worked at the Ford garage and then worked for the railroad for three years during WW II. He was a heavy equipment operator for the Town of Hoosick and then for Rensselaer County for 28 years.
One of the pleasures of his life was traveling. In 1939 he and Margaret attended the World’s Fair in New York City. Some of his travels included Oregon, Montreal and other parts of Canada, the Continental Divide and visiting a son in San Antonio, TX. Margaret passed away in 1974, and he has lived alone, surrounded by children and grandchildren, ever since. He has 12 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and 33 great-great grandchildren. Leverett is a life member of the Hoosick Grange, the Derby Club, the Hoosick Falls Eagles and the Bennington Moose Club.
The world has changed unbelievably in his lifetime. Women received the right to vote, prohibition has come and gone. The country has been involved in two World Wars and five other wars or conflicts. Communication is instantaneous, and men and women travel into outer space. Today the population of the country is over 306 million. There are more than 251 million vehicles on our roadways, 5.7 million miles of which are paved. Leverett thought about it all and said, “Well, the best part is I’m still here!” He said some times have been good and some bad, “You take the bitter with the sweet,” he concluded.