by Bea Peterson
Barney Oldfield set a land speed record of 131.7 mph at Daytona in 1910. The first Father’s Day was celebrated, the Boy Scouts of America was founded and President William Howard Taft began the tradition of throwing out the first baseball on opening day. And on August 15, 1910, Dorris DuPont was born in Gouverneur, NY, in St. Lawrence County.
Dorris celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday at the Hoosick Falls Health Center, surrounded by family and friends. She arrived at the party in a lovely long dress with lace jacket and new white shoes, a gift from the Heath Center Residents Council of which she is President. On her wrist was a corsage of pink roses given to her by her daughter, Sharon Beaty. Her sons, John and Larry DuPont, both from Texas, were also there. Her son, Peter Brenenstuhl, who lives in Florida, was in Alaska taking care of a business emergency over the weekend.
As a child her family moved to California, then back to Gouverneur. She lived in Troy and worked at the Watervliet Arsenal. During the war she and her husband Elmer lived in Nevada. From there they moved to Sylvan Beach, NY, where she worked in the Rome Post Office for 11 years. Another move took the couple to this area again where she worked in the Albany Post Office in Latham. When Elmer wanted to return to Champlain where he was born, they lived in Cumberland Head, and Dorris transferred to the Plattsburg Post Office. She retired at 60 to care for her ailing husband, and they moved to Troy where she operated the Troy Motorboat and Canoe Club for three years.
Dorris is a 65 year member of Eastern Star and has chaired all the committees and been Matron more than once. Since moving to the Health Center she hasn’t slowed down at all. Besides her presidency on the Residents Council she operates the residents gift cart/shop. She is a member of the West Hoosick Baptist Church and the Church has made her an honorary lay person. She is honorary Chaplin at the Center. She knits prayer robes and crochets bandages for the Red Cross and baby hats. She also loves frogs! Most of them she has collected since living at the Center. The big green frog in her wheelchair is named Ezra. Her bed is covered with stuffed frogs and more frogs cover dresser tops and shelves in her room.
On her birthday many of her late brothers’ children, their children and their grandchildren came from Gouverneur to
celebrate Dorris’ birthday. Rensselaer County Legislators Stan Brownell and Lester Goodermote presented her with a commendation from the County. “I received so many wonderful cards,” she said. When asked about moments from the past, she said she had too many happy memories to pick out just one or two. Though one of her proudest moments was getting her GED at age 53. “It was my first opportunity to try for it,” she said. “And I had the highest mark in the class!” Along with the good things that happened to her in her lifetime she admits she had some tough times. “But,” she shrugged, “everybody has tough times.”