Emma vonProschwitz is looking forward to a big party on Saturday, April 28. She will be celebrating her 100th birthday. An open house is being held at the Town Center from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Perham Memorial Hospital and Home. She hasn't asked for anything special for her special birthday - just some ice cream to go with the cake.
Emma was the last of eight children born in her family and is now the last alive. When her mother was about to give birth in the rural Corliss Township home, the midwife sent the other children out to pick violets. They returned to the healthy cries of a new baby named Emma Ida Viola Steeke.
Emma's connection to violets is still with her at Pine Harbor, PMHH. She has 24 plants, which have been received as gifts over the years. She cares for them herself taking over half an hour just to water them. One of her secrets to the large blooms is African Violet plant food. She also uses the mixture to water her five cacti, two of which trace their beginnings back to plants owned by her mother.
While living with her sister in Minneapolis, Emma met Gustav vonProschwitz who was from Sweden. They were married in the Trinity Lutheran Church there and lived near Deerwood on Serpent Lake for 48 years. After "Gus" died in 1993, Emma returned to the Perham area.
In addition to her collection of violets, Emma has several bird figurines and teddy bears given to her. She says, "I have lots of friends."
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In her hundred years of memories a few stand out. "I didn't like being tall." At 5' 9" she was quite a bit taller than the other children. She was teased about the length of material her mother had to add on to her hand-me-down dresses. She also remembers telling her mother she didn't like her name. Mother's response was "The name is good if the girl is good."
Emma smiles and recalls that her mother also told her to "Be nice to old people because you might be one some day." She actually does have a special wish for this 100th birthday - that her mother could see that she's reached this age in fine shape and that Gus could share the day with her.
