Anniemae Miller's interesting life story starts earlier than most. And she admittedly has little recollection of the first chapter outside of family anecdotes.
Mostly because she was busy being born.
Miller, who was celebrated as one of the five most senior residents at Beaver Meadow Village in a Sunday ceremony, was born April 25, 1919. She was supposed to be delivered by the town doctor.
Trouble was, he was also known as the town drunk. And as the tale goes, he administered chloroform to Miller's mother and rested in the corner of the room as the midwife – Miller's grandmother – did all the hard work.
And despite his reputation, the good doctor has still earned nary a negative word from at least one of his loyal patients.
“He was sharp as a tack,” Miller said of the doctor. “He was a drinking buddy of my grandfather, and so it ended up my grandmother went around and helped with the babies being born.”
Things didn't always happen so quickly for Miller, though. If she was the hare in terms of early memorable tales, sometimes she was the tortoise – like when she opted not to obtain her driver's license until the age of 50, and even then only after her three children did much of the legwork.
“I wouldn't have gotten it then, but the kids got some money together and went to a neighbor who was a driving instructor,” Miller said.
That license came in handy during her 20 years as a secretary in the Penacook and Merrimack Valley school districts, a vocation she picked up after she turned 40 in order to help put her children through college.
She went to Concord Commercial College and earned a certificate in secretarial skills, spending much of her adult life working during an era in which many of her friends and neighbors didn't work.
“Most of my married life, women didn't work,” Miller said. “But I loved it.”
She married her husband, Bernard, in 1944, after attending junior college in Florida, the only time of her life she didn't call New England home. Bernard was in the Merchant Marines, though, and shortly after they married he returned to service for two years.
Miller was hardly alone at the time, but communication difficulties made for a harrowing experience.
“We were all in the same boat, we just did what we had to do,” Miller said of many of the women she knew. “There were months where I wouldn't hear anything (from Bernard), and that was kind of worrisome. Even when he was coming home, I couldn't get in touch with him until he landed in Texas and called.”
When Bernard retired from his job as a foreman for the U.S. Postal Service, he kept busy by spending years on the Penacook and Merrimack Valley school boards. The couple also took advantage of their time by traveling, taking bus tours of much of the United States and Canada and making several trips to St. Thomas, where their son lives and works.
They also visited England and other European countries, and never let the language barrier get in the way.
“We loved it, we really did,” Miller said. “My husband was a great talker, even in a foreign language. He spent a lot of time talking to people.”
The couple moved to Beaver Meadow Village in 1999, and Bernard passed away in 2007.
The community at the village has been a blessing for Miller, who has made many friends in her time there, including the other four residents honored at Sunday's ceremony. She is also close to her daughter, who lives in Concord, and has five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Nothing seems to slow Miller down, though. Involved in the church since she was president of Church Women United – an ecumenical movement that took in all religions – in the 1950s, Miller is still active in the United Church of Penacook, taking part in the church fair.
She also gives tours at the historical society, has donated knitted items to Concord Hospital and works in the garden and helps put on a coffee hour at Beaver Meadow Village.
“Everybody knows Anniemae,” John Sokul, president of the Beaver Meadow Village Association, said.
