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Gertrude Thompson of Rockford
Celebrates Ninetieth Birthday
Gertrude
Thompson of Rockford recently celebrated her ninetieth birthday.
Gertrude Marcele McBride was born to Bert and Gwena(Stemen) McBride in a
house on Turner Avenue in Ada on December 4, 1917. Mrs. Thompson, who
likes to be called “Trudy,” was named for her beloved Aunt Gertrude, a
sister of her mother.
She was the third of ten children,
including Elizabeth, Ruth, Robert, Nelson, Andrew, Leota, and Howard.
The youngest two, Helen and Lowell (Scotty), died in infancy.
When Gertrude was small, the family
spent a year in Saginaw, Michigan. They returned to Ohio and lived just
west of Elida. Because of the one and three-fourths mile walk to the
one-room school, Honey Run, Gertrude’s mother kept her home until she
was almost seven. Mrs. McBride, a former teacher, advised that Gertrude
start in first grade, but she was soon advanced to second. A relative,
Katie Cremean, was her teacher. When the McBrides moved a short
distance, the children attended East Camel Back, also a one-room school,
with teacher Clara Diller.
The family then moved to Ada. They
lived in homes on Grand Avenue, West Montford, and Main Street before
buying a house on Union Street. Gertrude attended Ada Exempted Village
Schools, grades four through six at the North Building and grades seven
through twelve at Ada High School. She was valedictorian of the class
of 1935, the first to graduate from the new high school.
Gertrude continued her education at
Ohio Northern University, her father’s employer and a short walk from
her home. She was a tennis enthusiast, joining friends on the court
whenever she had time. She also played intramural volleyball, was an
active member of the YWCA, and was sometimes seen doing handstands.
At the top of her class, she
completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1939 and was awarded the
Departmental Honor in English upon graduation. She earned an additional
Bachelor of Science in Education in 1940. While a student, she met her
future husband, Ernest Thompson of Adena, Harrison County.
As a college sophomore, Gertrude
placed her faith in Christ while attending special services in Findlay
with a Rev. Dunham. Her spiritual life was influenced in part by Ruby
Wertheimer, her Sunday School teacher at the Ada Baptist Church.
Gertrude is a long-time member of Rockford United Methodist Church,
where she taught an adult Sunday School class for a number of years.
Miss McBride taught high school
French and English in Cardington, Morrow County, during the 1940 to 41
school year. She lived in the home of coach Jim Morrison and wife,
Virginia.
On August 31, 1941, Gertrude married
Ernest, who was now a high school teacher in Rockford. The wedding took
place on North Walnut Street in Van Wert at the home of the Rev. A.J.
Stemen, a retired United Brethren in Christ minister and grandfather of
the bride. Attendants were college friends, Paul De Lamater and Bina-May
Crosser. The marriage continued for 53 years until Ernest passed away
in 1995.
The Thompsons’ first home was a
second-floor apartment on Main Street in Rockford. In 1945, they moved
to Gertrude’s present home on East Second. She did some substitute
teaching during the early years. She was much help to Ernest, grading
papers and helping to produce the school yearbook,
The Almega.
The couple’s five chidren are
Robert(Gail), Rockford; Steven(Marcia), Rockford; Paul(Kathryn),
Gallup, New Mexico; Ann(Gary)Brown,
Akron; and Philip, Rockford. There are ten grandchildren and nine
great-grandchildren.
For 17 years, Ernest’s father,
Jasper Thompson, made his home with the family. He was blind much of
that time.
Gertrude has been an enthusiastic
homemaker, whose specialty is sewing. Flour sacks and Ernest’s old
suits were recycled into clothing for the children. She also sewed
sports coats that Ernest wore while teaching school. She did some
crochet and needlepoint and produced a large braided rug. She says that
she loved painting and refinishing furniture. She continues to work in
her home and do a few outside chores.
In the 60’s, Gertrude, who always
enjoyed reading and writing, became Rockford correspondent to the Lima
News, and Ernest was recruited to be local reporter to the Van Wert
Times Bulletin. He contributed photography to both papers, and
together, they wrote school, church, and community news, farm features,
and human interest stories. They also called in obituaries to the Lima
News for the Ketcham and Ripley Funeral Home.
Gertrude has just begun her
sixty-first year of keeping a diary, which she began in 1948. She
wrote poetry and did a little public speaking, mainly for special
occasions at church. She enjoys crossword puzzles, and her dictionary
is always handy in the kitchen. She coached her children to prepare
them for spelling bees.
Gertrude comments that the greatest
changes she has observed in American life over the years are moral
decline and advances in technology. She remembers enjoying broadcasts
over the McBrides’ telephone radio.
The birthday was celebrated with a
family party on December 2, 2007 |