COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL AUGUST 16, 2017 11A
Living 50 Plus in Cottage Grove
Dorena local set to celebrate 100th birthday
W
hen Mary Rigsby was a girl, she had her drinking water brought to the
house by horse drawn carriages, the animals kicking up the dust of the
road-less, utility-less neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Decades before the
city would become the incubator for fame garnered by selfi es taken with phones
Mary says have no real use, she and her family made a home in LA.
"There were no streets," she says. "You picked a piece of land and started building a
house."
Mary was born in Los Angeles on September 10, 1917. Her father was a deputy
sheriff for Los Angeles County and her mother stayed at home with the kids. The
world, she says, has changed dramatically and not at all.
The biggest difference, according to Mary, is crime. There's more of it apparently.
She also says parents "holler" at their kids more while her parents had the "best
pruned tree in the neighborhood," with Mary and her siblings sent to choose their
own switch when their behavior veered off course.
Technology, of course, has come a long way but you won't fi nd a cell phone in
Mary's pocket.
"I guess people have them but I don't," she says. "We had a telephone where you
rang the crank and the operator would come on. Then, we had a receiver and you
picked it up and the operator was there."
Her son, Larry chuckles at his mother's description and narrowly avoids a threat to
have his mouth washed out with soap. "She doesn't have a cell phone because it's not
a rotary dial, she can't use it."
Mary lives just to the left of Larry at the end of a long county road in Dorena. Her
house is small; a living room, nestled next to a kitchen, holds the majority of her
day. She still does her own housework, laundry and ironing. She readies her own
meals and is part of the Dorena Sunshine Club--raising funds for families who
experience a house fi re, death or other crisis. She is up early with her dog, a rescue
chihuahua named Sunny, who scuttles about her feet, knowing just when to dart out
of her way to avoid a collision.
"She stopped driving at 90," Larry said of his mother. It was shortly after that, Larry
and Betty moved Mary down to Dorena but she's lived all over the state.
Her parents bought land in Marshfi eld but soon found it uninhabitable and bought
a farm in Bridge. In 1937, Mary married James Rigsby in Coquille and moved to
Riddle.
"If James had lived one more month, we would have been married 62 years," Mary
said. And while six decades seemed like a long time to spend with one person, Mary
says, you get used to it. "It becomes habit and you fall into it."
It was James who convinced Mary to retire from her job as a bookkeeper.
"He said, 'We can never go anywhere because you're working.' So, I stopped work-
ing and he refused to go anywhere," she said. "He got his way."
If Mary has her way, she won't live to be 109 like her mother.
"I hope when it gets to being I can't do things for myself that the good lord takes
me," she said.
On September 10, she'll celebrate a century and to mark the occasion, she's hoping
to receive 100 birthday cards. If you'd like to send a birthday greeting, please ad-
dress all cards to Mary Rigsby P.O. Box 127 Dorena Oregon, 97434.
DENTAL Insurance
If you’re over 50, you can get coverage for about
Keep your own dentist! NO networks to worry about
NO annual or lifetime cap o n the cash benefi ts
Mary Rigsby, pictured with her dog Sunny, will celebrate her 100th birthday on September 10. She'd like to receive
100 birthday cards for the occasion.
Avoid elder fraud
Elder fraud is a fi nancial crime that targets older men and women who are often un-
able to recognize they are being victimized. Elder fi nancial fraud is a broad term that
can be applied to a host of crimes, from stealing money or property directly from an
individual to using an older person’s property or possessions without permission.
Many seniors are targeted through telemarketing scams in which elders are scared
into giving money out of fear of losing their homes. Some are exploited by people
closer to home who forge signatures or get an older person to sign over deeds or
power of attorney.
• Confi rm professionals are who they say they are. More than 170 designations and
certifi cations are used within the fi nancial industry to identify professionals. Some of
them do not necessarily mean a person is qualifi ed or
can be trusted to handle an individual’s assets. Always
Imagine The Difference You Can Make
ask a fi nancial advisor if he is overseen by a govern-
ment agency or is authorized to provide advice under
the “fi duciary standard of care.”
• Pay attention to your accounts. Unusually large
FREE TOWING
withdrawals from automated teller machines or cashed
TAX DEDUCTIBLE
checks with signatures that do not match the signature
Help Prevent Blindness
Get A Vision Screening Annually
on the account are both indicative of fraud.
Ask About A FREE 3 Day
• Ask a loved one to keep you abreast of changes in
Vacation Voucher To Over
20 Destinations!!!
their will. Abrupt changes should cause concern.
DONATE YOUR CAR
Physicians Mutual Insurance Company
A less expensive way to help get the dental care you deserve
$1 a day*
PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
1-844-533-9173
No wait for preventive care and no deductibles
– you could get a checkup tomorrow
Coverage for over 350 procedures including
cleanings, exams, fi llings, crowns…even dentures
you can receive
FREE Information Kit
1-877-599-0125
www.dental50plus.com/25
*Individual plan. Product not available in MN, MT, NH, RI, VT, WA. Acceptance guaranteed for one insurance policy/certificate of this type. Contact us for complete details
about this insurance solicitation. This specific offer is not available in CO, NY; call 1-800-969-4781 or respond for similar offer. Certificate C250A (ID: C250E; PA: C250Q);
Insurance Policy P150(GA: P150GA; NY: P150NY; OK: P150OK; TN: P150TN) 6096C
MB16-NM001Gc
The support you need to find quality
SENIOR LIVING SOLUTIONS
A Place for Mom has helped over one million families find
senior living solutions that meet their unique needs.
S o me
So
e time
t i me
ti
m e s,
mes,
s p a
am
m pe
peri
r ing
ri
ng i s no
n t en
enou
ough
ou
u gh t o ke
keep
ep y ou
our r fe
f e
eet
e
et
h al
he
alth
th
hy.
y I f you
yo
o u ar
a e a se
s e ni
nior
or o r ha
h ve
v f ee
eet t th
that
at r eq
equi
uire
ui
re s pe
p ci
cial
a c ar
al
are,
e
e,
y yo
o u’
u r re
e n ot t a lo
o ne
ne.. Ou
O u r serv
Our
se
e rvic
rv v ic c es a re
e s pe
p ci
c al
ally
ly d es
esig
ig
gne
e d fo
for r th
thos
o e
os
There’s no cost to you!
CALL (855) 864-4711
! We’re paid by our partner communities
wh
who
h o ha
ave
v e t he
h se a nd o th
t er
e m ed
edic
i al
ic
a l c on
ondi
d iti
di
ti i ons:
on
n s:
s
arthritis mobility limitations diabetes limited vision
O r ce
Ou
cert
r ifi
rt
fie
fi
e d Re
Regi
gi i st
g
ster
ered
er
ed
d N ur
u se a ss
s s es
e sse
sess an
se
nd ca
care
ress fo
re
forr yo
y ur f ee
eet:
t :
t:
Nail trimming
Debridement or buffi ng of corns and calluses
Education regarding diabetic foot care
Education for preventative care
Home treatment for athlete’s foot and tinea pedis
To
o s ch
c edul
ed
d ul l e an a pp
p o
oi i nt
ntme
m nt,
me
nt t , ca
c all
l l 5 41
ll
41-7
-767
-7
7 67
7-5
5 40
4 0.
0
1515
15
5 15
1 5 V il illa
la
age
e D ri i ve
ve, , Co
Cott
ttag
tt
ag
g e G
Gr rov
r o
ov ve,
v e, O R 97
9 42
2 4
TURNING 65 AND NEED HELP WITH
YOUR MEDICARE CHOICES?
Call Paul to
help simplify
the complicated.
541-517-7362
ww
w w.
w . pe
peac
aceh
ac
c eh
ehea
e lt
ea
l t h.
h or
org/
r g/
g/cg
c g ch
cg
c
Paul Henrichs ~ Independent Agent
coverage4oregon@gmail.com