Seattle community salutes 102 Club honorees with fête
On November 5, 2005, live music and a full tea service welcomed 106-year-old Daisy Murphy and 101-year-old Maud Lepley into the 102 Talking-Book Club of NLS, the Library of Congress. The Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (WTBBL) sponsored the gala event, which was broadcast on radio station KIRO 710 AM and featured local author and news personality Tony Ventrella. Local businesses donated food and more than thirty hours of volunteer service to support the event.
Steve Prine, head of the NLS Network Services Section, inducted Murphy and Lepley into the 102 Club by awarding them with pins, certificates, and letters from the director of NLS. Twenty-one other Washingtonian centenarians have also been inducted into the club and will be mailed their pins, certificates, and letters.
Event guests included Jean Bowman, King County Library Service's senior advocate program coordinator; Kris Lawrence, president of the Seattle chapter of the National Federation of the Blind; Pat Thibaudeau, Washington state senator; and Jan Walsh, Washington state librarian. Although she was unable to attend the ceremony, Washington governor Christine Gregoire wrote personal letters to all of the 102 Club inductees.
Lepley started the festivities by announcing that she'd had a nap and was ready to celebrate! When asked what her favorite book was, she replied, "I like history, biography and nonfiction-I don't have time for fiction." Lepley said that she had a wonderful time meeting Daisy Murphy and joked about their ages. "I'm going to beat you. Sure, you had a head start, but I'll catch up," said Lepley to Murphy. Murphy laughed and the two chatted for the entire celebration.
Murphy, who was an active volunteer on the WTBBL Patron Advisory Council until she turned 102, enjoys history, biography, and books about missionaries. Both honorees thanked everyone who contributed to the event and expressed their gratitude to the library for providing such a wonderful service.