Louie Young celebrated her 100th birthday on the 27 June.
Spennymoor Mayor, Cllr Dean Ranyard and Cllr Beckie Calder visited Louie at Appleton Lodge in Spennymoor to present her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers to celebrate her very special occasion.
Members of Durham Police and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Team were also in attendance.
Louie was born in Kelloe and christened by the midwife as she was so small, she wasn’t expected to live.
One of her earliest memories was the 1926 Miners’ Strike when her family received a food parcel from the Lord Mayor of London, which included her very first sweets in a tin. When she left school at 15 years old, she and a few of her friends went to Scarborough where she worked in a boarding house.
When the Second World War broke out, she returned home, but was asked to return to Scarborough to look after evacuees. Throughout the war, she worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory where she became one of the Aycliffe Angels.
Her son Malcolm said: “My mother spent two hours on the bus to the factory as it stopped at all the villages picking up workers.” She recalled having to take an umbrella in case it rained because the bus leaked.
Louie was courting Jim Young at the time and kept an embroidered poetry card he sent while serving in the 8th DLI in Egypt. They married in June 1946 and moved to Old Kelloe, before in 1953 moving to Bowburn, where she lived until she moved to Appleton Lodge three years ago. Jim was a bricklayer all his working life but sadly passed away in 1984.
Over the years her hobbies have included crosswords, puzzles, knitting, gardens, bingo and taking the grandchildren on outings. The family owned a touring caravan and visited areas including Amble and Wales.
Her secret to long life is always having a positive attitude. She is allergic to only two things – penicillin and housework.
She has always been very generous and helped anyone she could, always with a good sense of humour. In the fifties, Louie obtained a temporary job at the Department of National Savings and was told she needed her O Levels if she was to gain a permanent clerical officer’s job. Attending Durham College, she gained the qualifications.
Louie has one son, Malcolm, a daughter in law Theresa, two grandchildren, Anna and Paul, and four great grandchildren, Benjamin, James, Maddison and Erin. The family live locally in Spennymoor and Middlestone Moor. Staff at Appleton Lodge in Spennymoor helped Louie celebrate her 100th birthday with Malcolm, Theresa and all the family.
Spennymoor's local community newspaper.
