Jessie Mealey, 103, attends county celebration
By:Minx McCloud
Jessie Mealey still remembers a fateful day back in the early 1900s when she and her father, a florist, were almost killed.
She had taken his lunch to him at the cemetery where he was tending the flowers when a sudden stroke of lightning hit his wheelbarrow, stunning both of them.
"I felt the tingling go right through my body. It was awful," she said, shaking her head and smiling.
"Perhaps that’s the secret of a long life," joked county Freeholder Ken Scherer when he read her biography aloud during a May 8 luncheon at Bridgewater Manor.
Mrs. Mealey was one of a dozen centenarians honored at a "birthday party" hosted by the Somerset County Office on Aging and the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders. She received a certificate congratulating her for her long and fruitful life. The event was held in conjunction with Older Americans Month.
Mrs. Mealey is 103 years old, and until last July, she lived in her own apartment in Clifton. She is currently a resident at Summerville Assisted Living on Auten Road.
The other 11 honorees ranged from 100 to 103 years old. All the women shared one thing a sparkle in their eyes that indicated the sense of humor necessary to live through one of the world’s most tumultuous centuries.
Mrs. Mealey was born in 1899, one of five children. Her husband, John William Mealey, died when she was quite young, and they never had children of their own.
However, Hillsborough resident Laurette Thompson considers her own family Mrs. Mealey’s "adopted family." Mrs. Mealey is her godmother, and babysat for her many years ago in Brooklyn, N.Y.
She was at the luncheon with her own granddaughter, Jessie Kaudelky, 13, of Clifton, and both beamed with pride as Mrs. Mealey received her framed certificate. Young Jessie stayed close by the side of the "favorite aunt," whom she was named after.
Mrs. Thompson, mother of five and grandmother of 10, has fond memories of those days spent with Mrs. Mealey.
"I remember we would go for long walks and we always stopped at the bakery where she would buy me a ‘Charlotte Russe,’" Mrs. Thompson recalled. "It was a round pastry in paper with whipped cream on it. That was the highlight of our walks."
When Mrs. Thompson’s family moved to Clifton, she did not see Mrs. Mealey quite as much, but she was very much in her heart. Mrs. Thompson’s mother died when she was 30, and Mrs. Mealey moved to Clifton and was like a "favorite aunt," spending most of the time with Mrs. Thompson’s family.
"Our entire family loves her," Mrs. Thompson said. "She would show up with boxes of cakes. She never had children of her own, and the more kids that were around, the better she liked it."
When asked what sort of activities she enjoys at Summerville-Hillsborough, Mrs. Mealey said, without hesitation, "ice skating." There was a mischievous look in her eye.
Mrs. Thompson smiled. "I don’t think she’s ever ice skated in her life."
However, she said, Mrs. Mealey was an oil painter who enjoyed doing scenery and flowers and created some lovely works of art.
"I painted in order to stay home," Mrs. Mealey whispered. She smiled, as if sharing a wonderful secret.
During the festivities at Bridgewater Manor, a welcome was extended to family and friends by Carolann Auger, executive director of the Office on Aging, and Mr. Scherer, liaison to Human Services.
A birthday cake with 12 candles, one for each honoree, was a highlight of the day, and each woman blew out her own candle, a few with the help of family members or friends. The 50 participants sang "Happy Birthday," accompanied by Hillsborough harpist Peggy Jaegly.
Mr. Scherer rehashed some of the events of the 20th century that these women witnessed: two world wars, women’s right to vote, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, and the walk on the moon.
He marveled at the fact that they have witnessed tremendous progress in technology, communications and medicine, and witnessed inventions that we take for granted now, such as television, microwave ovens, computers and automatic clothes washers and dryers.
"No one else knows what it is like to live so long; you are the true experts," he told the honorees. "Others can speculate, researchers can study, but a centenarian knows for sure, from experience."
As he spoke, the women nodded in agreement, perhaps pondering memories of what it was like to see an entire century pass. Most agreed that the secret of longevity lays in faith, a love of life, and the ability to laugh.
After the cake was served, the women chatted and spoke of their life experiences. Many remembered a different way of raising children a time when a parent’s word was the law. Mrs. Mealey chuckled as she remembered how strict her parents were when she was young.
"I remember my mother used to say ‘no’ a lot," she said. "My sisters and I were all nice looking girls, but I wanted my hair in a short bob like my friends had. I went to my mother with the scissors, but she took them away and wouldn’t cut it for me, and I went out to the woodshed and sat there crying."
Her eyes twinkled merrily, as she pointed to her gray hair, cut in an attractive bob.
"It’s short now."

