Countdown to 100 years
Clova’s approach to milestone ‘has felt wonderful’
-
Clova Caldwell, Park Place of West Knoxville resident, holds a gift she received at a past birthday. - Photo submitted
-
One of Clova Caldwell’s greatest enjoyments at Park Place of West Knoxville is spending time on her balcony, growing plants and reading. Clova will turn 100 years young in August. - Photo submitted
As Park Place of West Knoxville resident Clova Caldwell nears her 100th birthday, she said she “takes things one day at a time,” enjoying her plants and reading on her balcony.
Clova, born in 1921, will celebrate her milestone Aug. 14.
Living to approach 100 “has felt wonderful, but has become more difficult this past year,” she said. She attributes her longevity to keeping active — “a lot of yard work, walking and being in bowling leagues.”
Clova advises others to “make sure to always eat healthy, stay active in your church and be kind to others.”
She was born to William Ridge and Annie Hugues Ridge and had three brothers, Albert, J.D. and William, and three sisters, Hazel, Jaunita and Annie Christine. Her formative years were spent having fun with her family in Lenoir City.
“We moved to the country, just before the Depression, on a farm between Stockton Valley and Philadelphia (Loudon County),” Clova recalled. “The school in Stockton Valley was a one-room school house.”
She later was bussed to attend high school in Philadelphia.
Clova was married for 51 years to Hurbert Caldwell, who passed away in 1991. She lived alone, taking care of the house, for another 22 years.
She has one son, Charles, two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Clova moved to Park Place of West Knoxville in September 2014.
“She enjoys reading; with her balcony apartment she enjoys having beautiful plants and flowers to take care of,” Rebecca Phillips, Park Place Lifestyle 360 director, stated in an e-mail.
“I’m always able to sit on my balcony to read,” Clova said, adding she also enjoys playing cards, walking a mile a day and exercising every morning in the community room or in the courtyard. She remembered her father “was very straight — chores before play — and mother was an absolute jewel and an angel.”
Clova was just starting school when the Great Depression hit the country.
“We didn’t talk about it,” she recalled. “We just accepted it, but living on the farm helped.
“I had so many siblings that it was so much fun growing up and always playing games,” Clova added.
When World War II raged, she remembered, her three brothers either were drafted or volunteered for service — one in the Air Force and two in the Army. Clova also had a two brother-in-laws in the Marines and another in the Army.
She thinks her first car was a coupe with a rumble seat.
“I took a plane for our 50th wedding anniversary to California in 1991,” she said, while also visiting Europe for three weeks after her husband died.
