by Bea Peterson
Eleanor Fairbanks thought she was just going to Sue and Mike Matatt’s home on Sunday, June 17, for cake to celebrate her 100th birthday. Instead she found herself guest of honor at a huge party that included her children, grandchildren, family, friends, presentations from Rensselaer County Legislator Stan Brownell and Hoosick Town Supervisor Keith Cipperly and a bagpipe serenade by Kathy Buck. [private]Eleanor’s father was born in Scotland and the family often attended Scottish events. Her mother’s family, she said, has lived in the area since before the Revolution.
There was, of course, a very large cake. A large television screen showed the history of the last 100 years and photos of Eleanor through her life.
Her family in North Hoosick didn’t have a telephone when she was born. Most rural families didn’t. What a difference 100 years makes. On Sunday Eleanor Skyped with her niece, Debi and her husband Lou Cardillo in Pittsburgh, PA, on a cell phone. They could see her, and she could see them!
When Eleanor was born, June 17, 1912, the doctor failed to record her birth. No big deal when she started school, she said. “There were no rules back then; when you were five, you simply went to the nearby two room school.” It wasn’t until she was older and needed a driver’s license that the unrecorded birth became a problem. “We had to get affidavits from neighbors and everything,” she said. She needed that driver’s license because she had to drive herself to her teaching jobs in rural schools, including Pittstown, West Hoosick and Potter Hill.
Eleanor graduated from Walter A. Wood High School in 1929. She is the only surviving member of her class. At the recent reunion she visited with many of her former students.
She married John Finzer in 1934. Their son Alan was born a year later. During the 1940s things went awry with the marriage. Eleanor packed her son in the car and drove over dirt roads, filled with potholes, to Bremerton, WA, to try to put the marriage back together. It didn’t work. So she gave the car away, and she and her son took the train back home. “Either way,” she said, “it was a long trip.” She recalled meeting a lot of nice people on the journey west. One of the nicest families, she said, was in either North or South Dakota. This trip was taken during the war (WW II), she recalled. She also recalled having a lot of flat tires. At this particular stop, there was not an available hotel room around because it was hunting season and there were hunters staying everywhere. The man at the gas station told her to go up the road to his house and tell his wife that he said they could spend the night. The man told her they had boys in the service so there was lots of room. The family was very gracious, she said. The man also saw that she got a new tire.
Over the years Eleanor held a variety of jobs. She worked at Tansitor Electronics for almost 10 years and then at Bennington Hospital. She married Fred Fairbanks in 1952, and their daughter Anne was born in ’55. Fred had a stroke at some point and needed extra care for the next nine years.
Eleanor is pretty fit these days, except for some problems with a hip. She had a replacement at 97. She’s sharp as a tack and has a great sense of humor. She can still name every county in New York State. A humble gal, she was a bit overwhelmed by all the fuss on her birthday and very grateful to the Matatts for their thoughtfulness. She received many gifts and cards on her special day, including birthday greetings from Michelle and Barack Obama.
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