WSRAR Phuto
Charles Miller
Realtors
l from page A<T
honor was established in
1990 to recognize real
tors for their contribu
tions to the betterment of
their community through
outstanding public serv
ice.
Macintosh has been in
real estate since 1985. He
is a broker with Leonard
Ryden Burr Real Estate.
He currently serves on
the Business 40 Task
Force Committee, the
Peters Creek Community
Initiative, the Living
Room Board and the
Advisory Board for the
Holly Avenue
Neighborhood
Association.
"Jeff has volunteered
in many capacities for
our Association as well as
in the community,"
Farrell said.
Cook
from page A1
alphabet. The family's primary
mode of transportation was a
horse and buggy.
"When we went to a big to-do,
we went in the wagon," she
recalled.
The family cooked their meals
over the fireplace.
"Grandma always baked a
pancake in the skillet and flavored
it with brandy. All of us youngins
would have a piece," said Cook,
remembering one of her favorite
treats. "It was nice."
In the warmer months, they
would place a large washing tub
in the yard to heat in the sun, an
opportunity for mischief that
Cook says her brothers could
scarcely resist.
"The meanies, they'd pour it
out and put in cold," she said. ?
Cook spent much of her child
hood living alongside her future
husband, the late Larn Cook, who
was her childhood neighbor. The
two wed on Easter Monday in
1922 and enjoyed 62 years of
marriage before his death in 1984.
"I was crazy, I reckon," she
said when asked what made her
want to marry the dapper Mr.
Cook. "We had four good looking
youngins."
When The Great Depression
struck in 1929, the Cooks, like
families across the nation, were
forced to get creative in trying to
make ends meet.
"It was very hard," recalled
daughter Sue Vogler, 86. "It was
tough because the banks closed,
and what little money they had, it
was gone, so they rented, they
share cropped."
Even in the times of great
adversity, Cook remained stead
fast, employing her near-leg
endary work ethic to bridge the
gaps and provide for her family.
"She sold butter, she sold
eggs, she sold milk. They grew
their grain and they had it ground.
She canned all of her hog meat,
and that carried her through," said
Vogler, a retired US Airways
reservationist. "I never remember
a time that we were hungry, nor
wasn't we clean. She sewed us
clothes out of food sacks - all of
that stuff. It was phenomenal.
What a life!"
Cook often credits her indus
trious nature - and the fact that
she is a praying woman - as pri
mary contributors to her longevi
ty
"She usually says her hard
^ork kept her going, and I imag
ine that's true," Vogler said. "She
didn't have time to think
_i i i a *i_ _
aouui now Dau me situa
tion was."
Cook drove a car
until age 97 and lived on
her own on the farm
where she had reared her
children - now grandpar
ents and great grandpar
ents themselves - until
she made the decision to
join her late son at a
local retirement commu
nity. In September, she
attended the homecoming of Old
Westfield Friends Church, where
she enjoys the distinction of being
the oldest living member. Cook
joined the congregation 88 years
ago.
In 2004, Cook relocated to
Danby House assisted living
facility, where she is well known
for her sweet tooth, her love of
Bingo and coffee (she drinks
three to four cups a day) and her
uncommonly sharp intellect.
Danby House med tech Jennifer
Aguilar describes her as "a very
determined little lady" who often
dispenses parenting advice to
staffers and knows each employee
by name.
"She can remember all of my
pregnancies since 1 was here,"
related the 33 year-old. "She
knows that me and her each have
two boys and two girls and she
tries to compare how she raised
her kids to how I'm raising mine.
She's very with it; she knows all
my children's names ... It's just
been wonderful working with her
all these years, cut
i i
ung up, laugning anu
joking."
The only cente
narian in the home,
Cook is thought to be
the oldest of the
5000-plus residents in
Meridian Senior
Living's nationwide
network. Longevity is
in her blood; Cook's
own father lived to be
102. Her 88-year-old
daughter Kathleen Satterfield said
having her mother still in the land
of the living is virtually unheard
of among her peer group.
"When I tell people that, they
don't believe me," she said.
Aguilar, who has served the
Danby House for more than eight
years, said Cook's sense of inde
pendence and cognitive clarity
distinguish her even more than
her advanced years.
"Most of our residents are 30
years younger than her and they
need way more help than she
does," she declared. "It's incredi
ble to see somebody that old be
able to do so much."
Photos by Layla Gums
Ina Cook celebrated her 109th
birthday on Nov. 18.
Jennifer Aguilar ,
Teacher
from page Af
understand. I think she is nice.
She tries to make you comfort
able ... I am excited to come each
day because she has different
stuff for us to learn. She likes to
make you laugh."
She takes care of the students,
said third-grader Alan Jaimes.
She makes sure that everyone
treats each other well, and if
someone is sad, she tries to make
them not sad. Alan said. And,
when people don't understand, he
said, she goes around and helps
those who need it while everyone
else waits patiently. Plus, she
makes everyone laugh.
"She makes funny jokes;
sometimes she even tap dances,"
he said.
The parent of one student was
so impressed with Parmley that
she nominated her for a local fea
ture for WXII television, and the
station followed up.
Parmley is from Connecticut.
Her older brother, Justin, came to
North Carolina to attend N.C.
A&T State University. He liked it
and North Carolina and, looking
into possibilities, Parmley saw
that , Winston-Salem State
University offered a strong edu
cation program.
In a sense, teaching found her
early on. When she was 9 or so,
one of the younger children at
Archer Memorial AME Zion
Church in Windsor. Conn, started
sitting next to her during the ser
mon. Soon, others joined them.
"The kids started to pile up,"
she said.
Eventually, the group got big
enough that she moved the group
to the back of the church and she
would look after them during the
service.
"1 loved the fact that they
were looking up to me," she said.
By the time she was 11, she
was teaching a Sunday School
class. By the time she was 16, she
was helping out in a preschool
program after she got out of high
school each day.
Parmley graduated from
Winston-Salem State with a
bachelor's degree in elementary
education with a concentration in
English. She still maintains the
part-time job at Piedmont
Advantage Credit Union that she
landed as a WSSU student.
She is quite happy as a class
room teacher. She can imagine
herself becoming a speech
pathologist or reading specialist
one day. One way or another, she
knows she wants to continue
working directly with children.
"My biggest thing is staying
with the children." she said.
WS/R S Photo
Lauren Parmley with her class.
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