Idaho celebrates nine centenarians
(From left to right) Lang Vo, David Whittall, NLS Network Consultant, and Veronas Arant.
On July 11, 2006, nine participants in the Idaho Talking Book Service were inducted into the NLS 102 Talking-Book Club for continuing their love of reading even as they passed their one-hundredth birthdays. The Idaho Commission for Libraries and more than one hundred honored guests gathered in Boise not only to celebrate the 102 Club inductions, but also to observe the Talking Book Service’s seventy-fifth anniversary and to recognize the more than seventy volunteers whose work has contributed to all aspects of the activities and culture of the Commission and the Talking Book Service.
Two Idaho centenarians from Boise, Veronas Arant and Lang Vo, attended the celebration with their families and were welcomed into the 102 Club by NLS network consultant David Whittall. Whittall presented them with 102 pins, certificates, and congratulatory letters from NLS director Frank Kurt Cylke.
Arant, 100, is a retired schoolteacher who has used the Talking Book Service for ten years. She commented that the service has been "a constant and very enjoyable source of entertainment these past years—a real lifesaver since macular degeneration impaired most of my eyesight."
The most senior of the Idaho centenarians, Lang Vo, will turn 106 in December 2006. She moved to Boise from Vietnam several years ago and has used the program for three years.
The seven other Idaho inductees will be mailed their 102 materials. They include Wintle Bingham, 101, of Blackfoot; Garrick Fillmore, 101, of Rexburg; Clella Hall, 100, of Blackfoot; Isabelle Powley, 100, of Coeur D’Alene; Lillie Smith, 102, of Grace; Lelia Tibbits, 102, of Payette; and Minne Thorton, 101, of Ammon.
Local television stations KTVB-TV Channel 7 and KBCI-TV Channel 2 covered the 102 event, and several area newspapers ran stories about their resident centenarians. Although he was unable to go to the 102 event, Garrick Fillmore remarked, "I want you to know how much I appreciate your services. They have been a godsend for me."