By Judy O’Gorman Alvarez
RED BANK – Friends, family and well-wishers came to the Red Bank Senior Center Feb. 22 to help longtime borough resident Edith Blake celebrate a milestone – her 106th birthday.
Born Edith Antoinette Albert on Feb. 25, 1918, in Brooklyn, Blake has made her home in Red Bank since she was 18 years old. She grew up in Fair Haven.
“I never finished school. I thought I wasn’t smart enough to get a good job. But I could clean people’s houses – sometimes I cleaned two houses in one day,” she said.
But Blake, who married Charles W. Blake, was in no way lacking in intelligence. Quick-witted, humorous and by all accounts a special person, Blake has spent the last eight decades watching the borough grow along with her four children – three girls and a boy – 13 grandchildren, and “25 or 26 great-grandchildren.”
Now she lives with her youngest daughter. She said she has trouble hearing and walking but it doesn’t stop her from going to the senior center twice a week. “I go on Wednesday to play Bingo and Thursday to play Po-Ke-No,” she said. “Right now I’ve given Bingo up for Lent. I do it every year.”
To fill the void, Blake crochets. “I can’t tell you how many blankets I’ve made,” she said. “I’ve made them for doctors and different people and every one of my children, grandchildren and great-greats.”
She sang in the choir at St. Thomas Episcopal Church for many years. “When I began getting hard of hearing, I tried to resign, but they wouldn’t accept my resignation,” she laughed.
Blake was surprised by the number of people who turned out for her celebration at the senior center. “It was supposed to be an ice cream cake party with about 10 or 12 of us,” she said. “It turned out 65 people came.”
Among the guests was Mayor Billy Portman, who presented Blake with a proclamation that declared Feb. 25 as Edith Blake Day. “Oh boy, was I honored,” she said. “Everybody was making me important.”
Blake said she is often asked for tips on living a long life. “Everyone wants to know the secret – but it’s no secret. It’s God’s will. He had it made up for me before I was born. I wonder what it is myself. Everyone tells me I encourage them. If I could do this, they can, too. Maybe that’s why I’m here.”
The article originally appeared in the February 29 –March 6, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
