by Bea Peterson
Loretta Young, Victor Mature, Tony Martin, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Rosa Parks, Bear Bryant and Jesse Owens were just a few of the people born in 1913. That year Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President. John D. Rockefeller gave $100 million to start the Rockefeller Foundation. The zipper was patented. The first little prize was put into a box of Cracker Jacks. The Lincoln Highway opened as the first paved coast to coast highway, and the Federal Income Tax was signed into law at one percent.
[private]Anne Yurewitch, a bright-eyed lady with a strong handshake and purple manicured nails, was born in Hoosick Falls on July 24, 1913. On Wednesday she celebrated her 100th birthday. She has lived at the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation for about seven years where she participates in almost all the activities, particularly Bingo.
Anne was one of 13 Bachorz children raised on Carr Street where her parents kept a couple of cows, sometimes hogs, always chickens. “We had a big house and a big garden,” Anne said. Her only surviving sibling, Fred Bachorz is the youngest at 86. He recalls that when times were tough in the 30s his family always “ate good.” And to this day Anne loves sauerkraut and kielbasa, and she remembers well the taste of homemade butter and homemade bread from her youth. She and Fred both recall Christmases with candles on the tree and skating on Edwards Pond. Their father worked for Noble & Wood Machine Company and for Walter A. Wood. The family attended Immaculate Conception Church – “Oh, so many priests!” she recalled.
Anne attended the Classic Street one room school then went on to the high school. She left as a junior “because I wanted to go to work.” She said later she regretted it and wished she had finished her schooling.
Anne operated sewing machines for 48 years, first for the Saxson Company and then for Hoosick Falls Undergarment. “I loved it!” she said. In 1935 Anne married Dominic Yurewitch, and they had one son, John. The couple owned a home on Main Street for years. In 1979 Dominic passed away at age 64. Anne has two grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and ten great-great-grandchildren, with two more on the way. Her family has always been the light of her life. Happy Birthday, Anne!
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