DOWNEY - Speaking with Zelma Crowder means taking a trip through time that many of us could never comprehend.On March 28, Crowder turned 104; she is currently living at Lakewood Park Manor, an assisted living facility in Downey. She spends her days relaxing in her recliner, reminiscing about a time most can only imagine. She was born in Oklahoma on March 28, 1904, the very year Oklahoma was admitted as the 46th U.S. state. She was a daughter to Harry and Ida Myers, the second oldest of five children. An alumni of Red Rock High School, Crowder says her fondest memories are the times she spent playing guard for the school's basketball team. Soon after graduating high school, she opened the Zelma V. Crowder's Cafe in Oklahoma City, which she describes as a simple cafe with eight stools and a table for two. Despite the fact that the cafe has since been torn down, she fondly remembers her time as owner, server, cashier and janitor. Married once to "the most wonderful man," she had no children but is visited regularly by her nephew, Jay, and his wife, Anne Bartels. With enough life experience to fill an encyclopedia, she modestly says she has had a "great life" and would do it all the same if she could.

********** Published: April 14, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 52