A part of the position that I hold with this publication is being afforded the opportunity to meet and interview some of the amazingly interesting people within the community and whilst I feel incredibly privileged to do so, there are occasions when I have the chance to conduct an interview that I will remember as being the highlight of my day. The following article is about a recent instance when I had a chat to Enid Johnson about her special day that I will remember as a very special part of my day.
Featured Image(above): Happy 100th Birthday Enid
Enid, who has been a member of our community since moving from New South Wales in 2017, is a resident of the Churches of Christ Aged Care facility in Foley Street at Bongaree and, even though I am having trouble believing it (you don’t look anywhere near that age Enid) after meeting her, she has just celebrated her 100th birthday.
Born in Bronte, New South Wales on May 6th in 1918, the same year that Prime Minister Billy Hughes made the first direct access radiotelephone call from Sydney to London, Enid has obviously seen many changes in Australia during her full and interesting life. Married to husband Eric (who has now passed away) for sixty-two years, Enid spent much of her life as a breeder and award-winning exhibitor of both Pembroke and Cardigan Corgis and she told me about one very special Corgi.
Enid with her daughter Pam who visits ger almost every day
‘One of the dogs that we had brought over to Australia had already been the father of a litter from one of Queen Elizabeth II’s Corgis and apparently, she said to tell us that we were very lucky to have him,’ said Enid. ‘Our kennels were the first to bring the Cardigan breed to Australia,’ she explained. After retirement, Enid lived until last year in an over fifty fives village on the Central Coast of New South Wales and became very involved in producing concerts and performing in them as well.
‘As we were all old, they were mainly all mimed and people told us that they could never tell,’ Enid recalled. ‘Every show was packed out and we made a lot of money which was donated to worthy causes. I remember one instance where we gave $5,000 to a doctor who was involved in cancer treatment and research and he was so happy because he had been trying to get the funds to buy a new piece of equipment,’ Enid said.
When I asked this lady who I so much enjoyed talking to if there was any special reason why she had lived to such a wonderful age, her reply, although not what I expected, made a lot of sense. ‘I think it’s all to do with a person’s genes. That and the fact that I have always been very active,’ Enid told me. ‘When I was in the over fifty fives village, I used to go swimming twice each day and also walked around the village each day. That was about two kilometres,’ she added.
On her big day, Enid celebrated the occasion at the Bribie RSL along with her daughter Pam, (who lives locally and visits almost every day), and family as well as a few visitors who had travelled from as far away as Wagga Wagga and Sydney to be with her for her birthday.
On the following day, she was given another party by the residents and staff of the facility in Foley Street and although she won’t be there, her friends at the village in New South Wales are holding a party in her honour. From the team at the Bribie Islander and all of the community of Bribie island, happy 100th birthday and congratulations Enid, Australia is a better place because of people such as you.
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