Centenarian Who Rides Electric Scooter to Work at
Newspaper Named Oldest Worker
Mildred Health works 30 hours a week at newspaper she
helped found in Overton, Nebraska
Oct. 3, 2008 - Mildred Health, a 100-year-old newspaper woman who
comes to work on an electric scooter and works 30 hours a week at the
Overton Observer in Overton, Nebraska, has been honored as America’s
Oldest Worker for 2008 by Experience Works, which says it is the
nation’s largest provider of training and employment services for older
workers.
Love
for life and for working with people is what has kept this
newspaperwoman going in the 85-year-long career she started in 1923 at
the age of 15. High-schooler Mildred Nelson considered it, “just
natural” to take a job at her hometown newspaper, the Curtis Enterprise
(Curtis, Nebraska), to work alongside her sweetheart, Blair Heath.
There, she taught herself to operate a Linotype – a
machine that turned hot lead into lines of type for the printing press.
“I got really good at it,” she says with pride, “but the lead was really
hot.” She still carries burn marks from those early days.
In 1927, after graduating from school, Mildred
Nelson married her newspaper boyfriend, and in 1929 they bought the
Farnam Echo, beginning a family and publishing partnership that now
involves three generations.
In 1938, the couple moved to Overton where they
founded the Overton Observer. For many years, the Heaths lived in rooms
behind the Observer office with their three daughters, Donella, Polly
and Barbara, who were literally born into and grew up in the newspaper
business.
In 1948, they purchased the Elm Creek Beacon and
later combined the newspapers.
Mrs. Heath’s son-in-law, Norm Taylor, became a
journalist because of her. “I kept coming around to date their daughter
Polly, but Mrs. Heath put me to work instead,” he laughs.
Taylor became a writer for the Beacon-Observer,
later married Polly, and the couple eventually bought the newspaper.
“Her work is what keeps her vibrant,” he remarks.
Related Stories
“If
I could leave any message, never stop learning. Period.That's it.” Centenarian Maurice Eisman
Death rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death
in U.S. all dropped significantly in 2006; Alzheimer’s passed diabetes
becoming the sixth leading cause of death
The Taylors’ daughter, Gail Johnson, now works
alongside her grandmother, helping to publish the Observer. Mrs. Heath
says working at the newspaper, with family, gave her the opportunity to
do what she enjoys most.
Many times Mrs. Heath kept the newspapers going
almost single-handedly, through financial, health and natural disasters,
such as the stock market crash when they bought the first paper, her
husband’s critical illness and his death, the devastating flood of 1947
and the blizzard of 1949.
To this day, Mildred Heath doesn’t let anything
keep her from working 30 hours each week, commuting one block from her
apartment to her office on an electric scooter to compensate for
breaking her hip six years ago.
Doing whatever she can to help, she takes
classified ads, files photographs, and seeks out local news.
Called “Overton’s lifeline” for keeping people
connected with their community, she is the first to grab incoming faxes,
and instead of greeting people with “Good morning,” she typically asks,
“Got any news?”
Even at a big gathering to celebrate her 100th
birthday, Mrs. Heath kept a notepad and pen handy to gather news for
that week’s paper.
Now possibly the oldest working journalist in the
country, according to the Nebraska Press Association, Mildred Heath has
seen dramatic changes in the newspaper business.
She believes the computer is responsible for many
of those changes, making publishing the newspaper easier and quicker.
Norm Taylor says, “Mildred adapted to the new
technology quickly. When we got our first computers, she just sat down
and taught herself how to use them.”
Mrs. Heath also recalls that they had to send film
away to be developed, which took lots of time. Today pictures are ready
for print almost instantly.
Involved in many civic efforts, Mildred Heath has
aided in planning the Dawson County Historical Society, starting the
Overton Community Center, getting a library and sewer system, and
inaugurating congregate meals at the Overton Community Senior Center,
where she is secretary of the board of directors. Additionally, she is
active in the United Methodist Women, American Legion, Daughters of the
American Revolution and the National Rifle Association.
At age 100 plus, despite the fact that she has
outlived her three daughters and has four grandchildren, three
great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, Mrs. Heath has no
plans for retirement and talks about all the things she wants to do, at
work and at home.
Cynthia Metzler, president and CEO of Experience
Works, said, “Mrs. Heath is a wonderful example of how seniors who stay
active, both mentally and physically, can continue to make valuable
contributions to the workplace and to their communities.”
Mildred Heath, along with outstanding older workers
from every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, were honored
the week of Sept. 24 in Washington, D.C., as part of the Experience
Works Prime Time Awards Program, the nation’s premier older-worker
recognition event. The announcement of the winners was made at the
National Press Club.
Now in its eleventh year, the Experience Works
Prime Time Awards Program serves to remove barriers to employment and
dispel negative stereotypes about older workers. The Prime Time Awards
is the only national program that, each year, honors the contributions
of working seniors.
The program is funded entirely by donations and
sponsorships. This year’s “Champion” sponsor is Home Instead Senior
Care, the largest provider of comprehensive companionship and home care
services for seniors.
For more information on Experience Works or to
nominate an outstanding older worker for 2009, visit
www.experienceworks.org.
Tips for
Seniors Seeking Work
If you are an older adult seeking
employment, following are resume writing tips from Experience
Works.
• Give it some punch: Start your resume with a tag line
that emphasizes your desired outcome in your new position.
• Stick to the core: List your
accomplishments and experience from your work history in terms
of core competencies related to the position you seek, not based
upon chronological order. The biggest error made by many older
workers is to list all of their duties and responsibilities over
the years, even those that have no relevance to the position
sought.
• Keep it brief: Your resume
should be no longer than two pages. Arrange your
accomplishments in bulleted action items, not paragraphs.
References do not belong in a resume; employers will ask for
those in their application or at the time of the interview.
• Leave it out: As an older
worker, you should de-emphasize dates and years in your resume
by omitting dates of education, leaving out earliest jobs and
inserting timeframes only for relevant past work experience.
• Accentuate the positives:
Emphasize the positive attributes of your age and experience
including your accumulated experience, strong work-ethic,
ability to make a contribution immediately, and your familiarity
with relevant computer software and other technology.
For more information on jobs training and
employment assistance in your community, visit
www.experienceworks.org.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Love
for life and for working with people is what has kept this
newspaperwoman going in the 85-year-long career she started in 1923 at
the age of 15. High-schooler Mildred Nelson considered it, “just
natural” to take a job at her hometown newspaper, the Curtis Enterprise
(Curtis, Nebraska), to work alongside her sweetheart, Blair Heath. 
