8 March 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A landmark birthday for one Wichita woman.
Elfreda Hall turns 103 years old on Friday, March 8.
“I kind of crushed a high mark in my birthday,” she said.
Elfreda Hall on March. 7, 2024, the day before her 103rd birthday (KSN Photo)
Hall grew up on a farm in Wichita.
“I just am an old country girl who grew up to be a country lady,” she said.
Hall later moved to Washington, D.C., to send messages during World War II.
“It was educational, and I learned a little bit about sending and receiving messages, something I never would’ve done in my lifetime. It was tough, but it was good, and I’d do it again,” she said.
After Hall came home from D.C., she started a family, had two children, and began a heating and air conditioning business.
“She’s really always led an amazing life,” said Hall’s oldest child, Vicki Herron. “She was just leading her life like what she had to do, but interestingly, she and my dad started a small business in the late 60’s early 70’s and ran that until they retired. Well, in that time, women were not necessarily small business owners, and it never crossed her mind that she was doing something on the unusual side. She was just doing what she needed to do to get the kids raised and provide a good living for the family, so I think that makes her a little different than a lot of the women that came through that era. Very strong.”
Hall says that it’s not just the big moments that help our lives develop.
“All those little things, we don’t realize it. All those little things that happen to us make a mark in our lives ’cause sometimes, something similar to it, or maybe even about the same thing, will reoccur in your life, and you won’t even realize it,” she said. “I can actually look back and feel myself growing older, developing from childhood to teenager.”
Hall says she’s glad she’s had so many experiences in her life.
“Well, I guess all I can say is I learned a lot. I’ve had a long life, but I think it’s long enough for me to learn a lot,” she said. “I’m not ready to give up this good world, it’s not 100% good, but the majority of it is good.”
When asked what advice she would give to people looking to live a long life, Hall said this:
“You’ve got to eat well to be well, and you have to be well to make decisions as to what you can do mentally, physically, and you learn a lot as you go along,” she said. “You just live, and it develops.”
Hall will celebrate her special day with friends and family at her assisted living center.
Elfreda Hall with her oldest child Vicki Herron and staff members at her assisted living center on March 7, 2024 (KSN Photo)
“I have no plans, but it’s just another day,” she said. “As good as it has been, I’ve had a good life, but you really never know anymore what tomorrow is going to bring, and I sometimes wonder about this world, but I’m not smart enough to figure it out, so I’m going to let somebody else do that.”