Cape resident celebrates 100th birthday
The city of Cape Coral proclaimed Oct. 26, as Centenarian Hattie Mikridge Day due to her celebrating her 100th birthday this year.
Councilmember Peter Brandt read the proclamation at the beginning of the celebration Thursday afternoon, which was then followed by lunch, cake and a few presents at the Tony Rotino Senior Center.
Brandt said he is pleased that Hattie found a comfortable home in Cape Coral and is thrilled she is so active in the community.
“I don’t think it’s every day someone turns 100,” he said.
Mary, Hattie’s daughter, who lives in the Carribean said she called city hall and asked them if they would send out a letter letting individuals know her mother was turning 100. City hall told Mary they could take it one step further and make a proclamation because her mother reached would be 100.
“It means a great deal,” Hattie said about having a day dedicated to her. “It’s wonderful.”
When Mary began “A New Centenarian,” which is a short biography of her mother’s life that was provided to city hall for the proclamation, she said she learned more about her mother’s life.
“We bonded through the whole thing, which was great,” Mary said.
One of the things that Mary learned was that her mother worked for Thomson Products, an airplane company, from 1942 to 1946 inspecting locks for planes during World War II.
Mary and her brother George, who lives in Ohio, both think the world of their mother and try to visit as much as they can.
“I am very fortunate I have an independent mother,” George said.
Hattie remains extremely active, playing pinochle and kings in the corner twice a week at the senior center, along with paying her own bills, taking the bus to doctor’s appointments and getting around on her own. She also lives on her own.
“She is very mobile and sharp as a tack,” Mary said.
Hattie has lived in Cape Coral for 28 years.
“I love the weather here except it’s too hot in the summer time,” Hattie said.
George said he is very happy that the city of Cape Coral treats its senior citizens the way it does.
Hattie was born on Oct. 26, 1910 at St. Alexis Hospital in Cleveland Ohio. In 1918, she traveled with her parents to Warsaw, Poland. When she was 12 years old she traveled to Krakow, Poland where she spent four years at a convent. Hattie returned to the United States when she was 16.
She married her husband Dimito Mikridge and spent 64 years with him until he passed away in 2005.