Betty Molander to celebrate 90th birthday

Swedesburg resident Betty Molander will celebrate her 90th birthday on Wednesday, Dec. 20. Please help her celebrate with cards, which can be sent in care of Swedesburg Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 88, Swedesburg, IA 52652.

Betty was born on Dec. 20, 1933. She attended early elementary school in Mediapolis, then in the 4th grade moved to Winfield, where she graduated. After attending college, Betty taught kindergarten, retiring from the Fort Madison school district after many years.

Betty has been continually active in her local community. She is a member of the National T.T.T. Society (Chapter L- Olds). She is active in the Swedesburg Lutheran Church, currently serving on the Social Ministry committee and as President of the Women of the E.L.C.A. Betty just retired after 10-years of service as President of the Board of Directors for the Swedish American Museum and Historical Society in Swedesburg, Iowa. In her free time, Betty enjoys playing bridge with friends, working jigsaw puzzles, reading and, in warmer weather, enjoying her flower garden.

When interviewed by her neighbor, Isabel Kann, for a school project about her childhood, Betty said she is “just tickled to death by all of the things she has now - television, iPad, her electric stove, telephone, radio and lots of books.” Where she grew up, first in rural Mediapolis, then rural Winfield, her family did not have electricity or running water.

They had a wood-burning stove and it was usually cold. They carried their water in and out each day and stored ice in their basement. Her family had a privy until she was a sophomore in high school. Their washing machine was outside in a back shed in the summer and it was kept in the summer kitchen in the winter.

They had to heat water and carry the water to the washing machine, then carry it back out again after the washing was done. They did have a well pump in the house where they could wash their hands, but it was all cold water. Betty says “now, if the power goes out, it doesn’t bother me too much because I know I am very lucky to have many comforts.”