Every Senior has a Story: MIDGE TIEFENTHAL

Born in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1923, Midge spent most of her life moving! Early on, with a working mother and a college student father, she was "farmed out" to aunts and uncles in the area. They moved to Lansing when her father attended and graduated from Michigan State University. (She remembers a good early lesson there: having been told not to stick her fingers in the electrical outlet, she proceeded to do so, and got quite a poke!)

When her father got a position with what is now the Federal Communications Commission, they moved to Detroit. "I went to school half a year there," she recalled. "The playground had a high fence around it and I was used to the open countryside. I didn't like it!"

Various places in Nebraska came next as her father was transferred to the Grand Island area, one of eight monitoring stations across the U.S.. Her first introduction to pets came through her father's boss, who had a pet monkey, about 12 inches tall. "He brought him to the monitoring station with him, and I was just fascinated!" She said her father monitoried ships and cargo on the Great Lakes.

Her mom died when she was ten, and with all the moving, and as an only child, she never really formed lasting friendships.

She graduated from Allegan High School in Allegan, Michigan, and married a fellow who became a glider pilot in World War II. She worked as the social editor at the Allegan Gazette during the war. Her husband was killed in action. If she could change something in life, she'd "skip the war."

Following the war, she happened to be at a basketball game in Allegan with a group of girls when a fellow who had been a bomber pilot and a POW in Germany joined them. She married him, and they had three daughters, two of whom have passed. He served in the military for many years, then had a career in insurance.

Her favorite part of raising her children was "getting them up and off to school." The girls rode the bus, as they were four miles from school. Getting them up was difficult, and they were told if they missed the bus, they walked. They only missed the bus once, frequently thereafter carrying their breakfasts and eating at the bus stop.

"I hated to cook," she said, "but I loved to make jam. I used to make all my own, even thimbleberry jam. The only place in the world where it's made is in Copper Country by Lake Linden, Michigan."

The most important thing Midge has done with her life is spend time at the family cottage at Eagle Harbor, Michigan. They still go back. "I love being up north. I'm Finnish you know. It's quiet. The cottage is on a lake. We used to go up once a month. If I could, I'd like to stay up there year-round, skiing and snow-mobiling!"

She moved to New Sharon six years ago to be closer to and cared for by her daughter, a retired teacher. Midge has enjoyed woodworking in the past, especially finishing furniture. Her favorite color is blue, and indeed, she does look good in it. Her favorite food is the whipped sweet potatoes at Hilltop, where she has lived for two years.

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