PALM HARBOR, Fla. — This year, America will turn 247. The Nation declared independence from Great Britain on July 4th, 1776. Now, imagine being alive for nearly half of that time and being able to recall major milestones in history. 140 years separate a Palm Harbor woman from that day in history!
“My name is Lorraine King. I just turned 107 years old," she said as she smiled at the camera.
These days, needlepoint occupies King's time. She's quite the creator—that may be one secret to her longevity.
“This is my therapy. What would I do? Sit here and die," she said. "As long as I’m creating something, I have to live to finish it.”
She also has a few ounces of a very specific wine each night: “Cherry Kijafa," she said with conviction. She’s been drinking it for at least 50 years.
When you sit down with King, the stories seem endless. But, if you asked the doctor who delivered her in July of 1917, his optimism for King’s survival was pretty grim.
“The doctor said don’t bother to name her. She won’t live two days because she has a murmur," she said. "I still have a murmur every time the doctor checks it. So you can live with a murmur.”
You can climb mountains too—she’s ventured five in her lifetime. She once got lost on Mount Washington when she was in high school and trekked through the night only to come out the other side in a different city.
“Oh, it was terrible," she recalled.
In 1940, she and her husband took a trip to Washington D.C., and while sightseeing, they took an underground train to the capitol building.
They paid a visit to the New Hampshire office, where she’s from, and got free tickets to the White House. The next day, “I get to the White House, I open the door, there’s no guards, no policemen, no gate, it’s all open!”
King said she never did get a glance of the president at the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, but then again, she doesn’t recall seeing anyone.
“Well, it was very neat, but I didn’t see anybody!" she laughed.
A few years later, King would become one of the first Americans to own a television.
“It was in a frame, and it was round, and there was a lot of snow, and it wasn’t always clear," she said.
She’s upgraded over the years—a flat-screen TV now sits in the back room of her house. She doesn't have a cell phone, though. She had one for a short while but said she never used it and prefers the landline. Maybe she’s on to something.
One thing’s for sure, King is up by 6 a.m. and in bed by 8 p.m., meaning that routine is part of her incredible life. So, what does she think about being alive nearly half as long as America?
“I think that’s amazing," she laughed.
We do too, Mrs. King. Happy birthday!
