Calvin Coolidge was in the White House when Gertrude Anderson came into the world in 1925. Fifteen U.S. presidents later, Anderson celebrated her milestone 95th birthday June 9. Her maiden name was Yeakel as she grew up on a farm now part of the Buckeye Pipe Line complex.

She stopped attending school at the nearby one-room schoolhouse at age 12 to help work the family farm. Both the farm and school buildings no longer exist.

The thrice-widowed Gertrude resides with her daughter Ruth and son-in-law Ed David in the house the family matriarch had built with her first husband (Ruth’s father), Paul Laudenslager on Indian Creek Road in 1956. Unfortunately, Laudenslager was killed at age 32 in a freak accident while helping his father and brothers start a car in 1958. He worked for Bethlehem Steel at the time.

After a long period of mourning, she married Allentown plumbing inspector Paul Diel, then Carl Anderson, many years after Diel’s death. Both had died later in life from natural causes, Diel in 1985 and Anderson in 2008.

Her daughter and son-in-law purchased the Indian Creek Road property from her and invited Gertrude Anderson to live with them.

Gertrude Anderson retired from Rodale Manufacturing after 33½ years working on the assembly line.

She spends her leisure time attending senior citizen meetings and bingo games. Also keeping her young is playing the slots. Since the casinos have been closed down due to the pandemic, Anderson enjoys playing the slots on her new handheld electronic slot machine, a birthday gift from her daughter and son-in-law.