Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE -ÊAdria Orr may be one of the oldest residents of Kosciusko County. She turns 104 today.
Born in 1895 at Oswego to parents of German descent, Orr is a resident of Grace Village Retirement Community. She graduated from Warsaw High School in 1912. She married William Orr in 1920. He died in 1990. A mother of two, Orr has four granddaughters and six great-grandchildren.
Her fondest memory is "swimming in Tippecanoe River. I swam all summer. In the wintertime, we went on sleds all day. We would ice skate on the river."
She considers the invention and mass production of the automobile one of the greatest contributions of the 20th century.
"Consolidation of schools was quite a change, I thought," she said. Orr was a teacher at Oswego when the school first opened. After marrying William, she lived on a farm and later taught school at what is now Washington Elementary in Warsaw.
Orr remembers many "firsts" in her life.
"The first big-time movie (I remember) was 'Birth of a Nation.' It was almost overwhelming. It was really hard to take it all in," she said.
When President John F. Kennedy was shot, she was at a woman's club and a man came in and broke the news to the group.
"I don't remember where it was but those were the circumstances. When something happens to the president, it feels like something that would happen to a family member. He's someone very special," she said.
Orr doesn't consider the new millennium a big deal. "It's just another year," she said. "It's like the year 1000 or 1999. To me, it's just another year."
The new millennium will mark the third century in which Orr has lived. What's her secret to longevity?
"I've always been busy," she said. "I've always worked. I'm sure I don't really know."
She also offered some advice to today's youth.
"Of course, stay away from drugs. I think that's important," she said. "Get as much education as they can."
