106 years old
Dawson resident celebrates her longevity with cupcakes
Trending
DAWSON -- Blanche Benson celebrated her 106th birthday on Tuesday eating cupcakes and chatting with other residents the Johnson Memorial Assisted Living facility.
Benson was born on July 22, 1920. she shared stories on her humble beginnings such as living on a farm with her parents Daniel and Selma Korstad. She also helped out the neighbors with housework. When she got a bit older, she went off to Bible school in Fergus Falls.
By the time she turned 21, World War II had broken out. Her brothers and sweetheart Harold Benson had gone off to war. According to Harvey Benson, Blanche's son, Harold had traveled the world as an Army man, going to North Africa, Italy, the Philippines, and Japan.
Harold Benson came back after the war in 1945. Two years later, he and Blanche were married. They bought a small farmhouse together between Granite Falls and Clarkfield and had two children.
"The kids had to go to school in Granite, and that was the best thing. They had a very good school," she said.
Blanche always found a way to stay busy. When she wasn’t mothering her two children, Harvey and Bonnie, she worked as a Boyd School secretary, writing paychecks to teachers and setting up the lunch schedule.
"The library was connected with it, so we also did the library. And when you talk to any of the students from there now, the library is what they remember,” Blanche said.
She volunteered with the Prairie Five, delivering meals to people who needed them. She also worked as a bookkeeper for a city clerk in Boyd for many years.
After her father died, Blanche inherited his farm and house in Boyd, which she would visit often. Sorting through family archives and cloth materials, which she donates to the Trinity Lutheran Church in Boyd for quilting.
These days, Blanche is always finding a way to keep her memory sharp. She reads extensively the history of the southwest Minnesota area and her family’s history, sharing what she finds with anyone who will listen.
“She was either reading newspaper clips from years and sorting through them, and then she’d send them to people that she thought they would enjoy," said Lisa Dufrane, the activities manager at Johnson Memorial. "And then books she was reading, newspapers, daily papers.”
When she’s not feeding her thirst for knowledge, Blanche is finding all the ways to stay active, happy, and healthy. According to Kris Schwartz, the director of senior living services, Blanche spends her days hosting Bible study, walking around a lot, and talking with the assisted living ladies often.
"I’m the one who talks too much," she joked.
At her birthday party, Blanche was the center of attention, sitting at the dinner table with all her friends, telling stories about her life and enjoying a big bouquet of flowers and birthday tiara gifted to her. Next week she’s looking forward to her daughter visiting.