Noeline White – always busy
Noeline White’s family bought her a mobile phone for her 90th birthday. She protested, not because it was modern technology but because she was too busy out and about, or looking after her house and garden. “I’d rather be doing or making something”, she told them.
I can vouch for that. When I meet Noeline she’s just finished preparing a talk for the Friendship Club about a trip she made to Libya. A crochet jacket for her 10th great grandchild lies next to the chair waiting for a free minute. After I leave she’s hosting the Country Womens Institute craft group who are coming to work on card designs for a competition.
The Institute’s played a big part in Noeline’s life. “I was secretary forever and a day. My mother belonged and wanted me to join but I thought, ‘I don’t want to go with all those old women!’ When my mother died, in her early sixties, I decided she would want me to do it. I’ve never regretted the decision. It was about home skills – cooking, sewing, gardening and also a craft group. Back then we used to do lots of self-entertainment – like charades. It was so much fun.”
That’s not her only community interest. She’s an active member of the Friendship Club where she was Convenor for 25 years, was Lodge Secretary for Manchester Unity, wrote for the Village Voice and helped with flower shows and fair days. “I also got lots of pleasure as a Ranger Guide leader organising camping and hikes.” She’s fitted all this in around raising four children – including twins – and looking after her husband Freeman’s elderly mother, who lived with them for 17 years. Sadly Freeman suffered a fatal coronary about ten years ago. He was a blacksmith and his work can still be seen around town.
“The church was a big part of my life as well, from Sunday School all the way through to Mothers’ Union. I played the organ at St Andrews for 65 years.” It wasn’t all hymns though. During the war she used to fill in at local dances when the band took a supper break, mostly playing by ear. I suggest she must have been a good pianist but she disagrees.
I’m learning that Noeline isn’t comfortable being singled out for praise or attention. “I’ve got a lot of accolades over the years although I didn’t deserve it”, she says quickly. She did however agree to join her friend Joan Gibson in turning the sod and later cutting the ribbon for the new Health Centre, a recognition of their efforts in getting that project off the ground.
There are two questions that older people always seem to be asked: “How’s the world changed in your lifetime?” and “What’s the secret of your long life?“
Noeline tells me she grew up in the house right across the paddock from where we are sitting. “My sister (Joyce Hogg) and I could walk across farmland all the way to school and I could ride my pony right up to Riverside, singing my head off all the way. Now it’s all vineyards. My dad was a roading contractor and owned a team of Clydesdales. He would be mind-boggled to see the equipment they have now.
And here’s what Noeline says about living well. “Your attitude has a lot to do with aging, and life itself. People say I have a way of accepting things. I think I’ve always been like that. If you want to be fit and happy you have to be content with life otherwise it drags you down.”
Excellent advice from someone who’s living her own life to the full.
Chris Cassels
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