Ruby Bell was treated to a celebration in honour of her 96th birthday at Jamesway Manor here on Oct. 2.
Her daughter, Sandra Bird, and son Jim Bell and his wife Hope hosted the event with other family members who arrived from all over the countryside from Alliston to Hamilton.
Ruby Bell was a city girl who met her match on the farm and managed to raise two children, some chickens, and a few cows.
Listening to her tales of life on the farm would make an interesting read if she put pen to paper. It sounds like Bell welcomed the chance to move to Clifford and leave farming behind.
She spent 27 years working for W. H. Smith at that wholesale business. She is also the resident who has lived the longest at Jamesway Manor. Twenty-three years ago, she was the first tenant to take up residence when it opened the doors to senior living.
Her zest for life, friends, family, and the church were evident at the party where an endless stream of well wishers bearing cards, flowers, and presents sat beside her to offer a hug, a kiss, and share their memorable times.
Dave Bell brought a framed black and white photo of her as a young woman.
She wondered where the years and that young woman had gone. Her grandchildren, her in-laws, the Bell’s angels, all helped her recall the parties of old, especially her 80th birthday, where she was photographed sitting on a motorcycle.
A special gift for Ruby was the arrival of her five day old grandson Ryder James William Thompson, son of Sandra’s daughter Nicky. He reached out his hand to her to be held and loved and he didn’t want to let go of her finger.
Ruby is one of those ladies who always wears a smile, always has a kind word, and always offers a hug.
