Margo Florell with her grand daughter Laurie Bradley at Margot’s 105-birthday party held at the North Shore Care Center. One of the activities Margo still participates in is playing Bingo, as seen here.
When Margot Florell was born, the unemployment rate in the U.S. was 1.7 percent and a first class stamp cost 2 cents. Theodore Roosevelt was president and the country had 45 states. If you wanted to fly you could coax a balloon ride from a balloonist, but where you landed was anybody’s guess.
With only 10 miles of paved roads the country’s 8,000 cars were largely driven down bumpy buggy paths or were lumbering lazily down logging trails.
If you were a Caucasian female, your life expectancy was 47.3 years. Caucasian male? 46.3 years. The average life expectancy for black people was 33 years. The average worker made $12.98 per week for 59 hours of work. Lynchings and race riots were sweeping the country and Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle changed forever the way meat was processed (and other foods and drugs) and sold to the American public.
But that was then and Margot, who has survived two World Wars and watched the invention of plastic, planes, computers, T.V. and space travel come about (among many, many other things), is still here and still vibrant.
Back when she attended Wayzata High School Margo (Huntsberger) Florell was known as “Gorgeous Margot.”
“She was known for her beauty,” said her granddaughter Laurie Bradley, who was one of about two dozen people on hand to celebrate Margot’s birthday.
And 90 years later not much has changed—she’s still gorgeous!
Margot turned 105 on December 1 and a birthday party was held in her honor at the North Shore Care Center. Part of the festivities included playing bingo with the honorable, loveable Walt Mianowski calling the numbers.
So what dos she attest her longevity to?
Well, she always walked, ate healthy foods and never smoked. In high school she was a cheerleader and participated in swimming and diving on the swim team. And she is known for having a good attitude.
“My grandmother is also very positive. She was a good role model for me and my children,” said Laurie.
Margot has nine grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
While she may not be flipping off a diving board anymore, Margot still moves fast on her feet and has to be told at times to slow down to let the younger folks catch up. She’s a favorite with the staff and her late daughter, LeeAnn Lund, was a nurse at the care center until passing away last year. Margot has outlived her husband and two of her children.
Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from the year Margot was born.
January 13
First radio set advertised in Scientific American claims to receive signals up to one mile.
February
Ottawa Silver 7 sweeps Queen’s U (Kingston, Ontario) in 2 games to take the Stanley Cup. There are three Stanley Cup championship games in 1906 and three different Stanley Cup champions.
March
Nora Blatch is the first woman elected to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
April 11
Einstein introduces theory of relativity. On April 18 the most damaging earthquake in American history (lasting 47 seconds) occurred in San Francisco, killing more than 3,000 and making more than 250,000 people homeless while the city burned for three days.
May 22
Wright Brothers patent an aeroplane (that’s the way they spelled it back then).
June
John Hope becomes the first black president of Morehouse College.
July 11
The Gillette-Brown murder inspires Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.
August 22
1st Victrola manufactured (hand-cranked record player).
September 16
Roald Amundsen discovers Magnetic South Pole. Also in September Bradbury Robinson of St. Louis University throws the first legal forward pass in a football game.
October 31
George Bernard Shaw’s production of Caesar and Cleopatra premiers in New York City.
November 14
Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to visit a foreign country when he travels to Panama.
December 1
Margot Huntsberger is born, becoming the 98,400,001 American citizen. (That’s a guess, but that’s about as many people who lived in the U.S. at that time).
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