100 Years Young!

By MARGIE O’LOUGHLIN

Lois Knowles celebrated  her 100th birthday on Nov. 3 at the Midway YMCA on University Ave. The party room was full of balloons and flowers, four different types of cupcakes baked by YMCA executive director David Dominick, laughter and love. Lois has been going to the YMCA, “since forever,” she said. Apparently that has been long enough to make a lot of friends.

Muriel Hinich, now 82, was 57 when she became a YMCA member. She met Lois in the pool where, Hinich said, “she was swimming like a fish!” Hinich was afraid of the water but, surrounded by her new fit friends, quickly came to enjoy swimming and many other types of exercise.

Director of Healthy Living, Cathy Quinlivan, was scooping up reasonable portions of ice cream for the guests. “Community is less about brick and mortar, and more about relationships,” she commented. Quinlivan also heads up the Active Older Adults Program, to which nearly everyone in the room belongs. “Most of these folks have been coming here for decades, enjoying water fitness, stretch and Silver Sneakers classes together. That builds community.”

BJ Zander, a long-time friend of Lois’s and an artist, had made a 10’ long banner and taped it to the wall. On it she had drawn “LOIS” in gigantic letters. Guests wrote words that began with each letter to describe the guest of honor:

L— light hearted, lovely, luminous;

O — outgoing, oh so gentle, original;

I — inspirational, irresistible, incredible;

S — superb, swimming beauty, sababa (Arabic for awesome)

Another friend, Carol Sanders, said that Lois not only exemplifies the qualities people wrote down, but exemplifies them consistently. Consistency matters, in individuals and in organizations.

The Midway YMCA has been a consistent gathering place for members since it opened in 1952. In those early days, the space now dedicated for cardio exercise was a smoking lounge. And no one in St. Paul had even heard of yoga or tai chi. But, time rolls along. As La Donna Keljik, a YMCA member for fifty years said, “The YMCA is a big part of what our lives are all about.” The circle of friends gathered around Lois to help celebrate her 100th birthday was certainly proof of that...­