My maternal grandmother lived from 1912 to 2006. Last year, on the centennial of her birth, I wrote the following.
On July 8, 1912, my maternal grandmother, whom I was very close to, Patty Nicol, was born. She died in 2006 at the age of 94. On this, the centennial of her birth, I thought I would write this little article.
When my Grandma was born, the telephone was less than fifty years old. There were no radios, no television sets, no PC's or Macs, no Internet, and no cell phones. My Grandma saw them all appear in her lifetime.
When my Grandma was born, cars were still coming into common usage. A lot of people still used horses and buggies to get around. My Grandma saw them give way to the automobile.
When my Grandma was born, there were no man made object orbiting the Earth. Men in space belonged to the writings of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. My Grandma saw science fiction become reality.
When my Grandma was born, only nine years had passed since the Wright Brothers flew their first plane. My Grandma saw the arrival of modern air travel.
When my Grandma was born, the British, German, Russian, and Austrian Empires still existed. Only a few years would pass before three of those empires would fall, and later, the fourth would evolve into a commonwealth. My Grandma saw both World Wars that altered our world (she was in the WAC in World War II).
When my Grandma was born, Canada was still a British colony, the U.S. only had only 48 states (some having only become states that same year she was born). In her lifetime, Canada became an independent country and the U.S. got the 50 states it has now.
Amazing how much the world changed in my Grandma's lifetime.