Ercell Rumsey has 102 years of Harrisburg memories

"People don't come around and visit on Sundays like they used to," Ercell Rumsey said. And Rumsey should know what she is talking about for she will celebrate her 102 birthday on Oct. 2 of this year.

Rumsey was born in the year 1912, in Bradford, Canada. Her parents Catherine and George Glazier, had immigrated to Flint, Mich., from London, England, in 1911. Born there in 1912, Rumsey remembers working at a spark plug manufacturing plant, AC Spark Plugs. Meeting and marring Perry Vick in the mid-1930's Ercell, came to Harrisburg in 1937.

"We brought all our furniture from Flint to Harrisburg in a wooden wagon pulled behind our car," Rumsey recalled.

Here the family took root with the birth of the first of two daughters Delores. Perry Vick passed away in 1942, shortly before the birth of their second daughter, Paralle. It seemed for awhile the family would return to Flint.

"I remember Mom would talk about going there," Delores Vick said. "But we stayed here and Mom met my stepfather, Robert."

Married to Robert Rumsey in 1948, Rumsey soon had their first son, Richard. The family settled down, Robert working at Hart's Department Store and Ercell with Kresge's, both Harrisburg stores.

"I love canning," Rumsey said. "Especially green beans."

Rumsey recalls that her gardening, quilting and crocheting hobbies were some of her fondest memories of her life in Harrisburg.

"We would go up and visit Robert at Hart's," Rumsey said. "The children enjoyed the drawers and shelves in the stockroom."

Rumsey is an avid sports fan, to this day watching her lifelong favorite team the Cardinals with the same enjoyment she has always had.

"Mom always would be listening to the radio when I came home from school," Vick said. "I remember coming in and hearing a Cardinals game on. That's how I knew she was home."

Rumsey also enjoyed going to local basketball and baseball games and "Shopping every Saturday."

"But I miss visiting, especially on Sundays. People used to go visiting each other on that day and now they don't," she said.

Vick said her mother was always visiting and helping friends and neighbors.

"She made quilts and crocheted and she would be sure to make a baby blanket for every lady she knew who was going the have a child," Vick stated, adding that she still runs into people who have to this day one of her mom's blankets from their childhood.

Rumsey now enjoys her time putting together puzzles in her beautifully adorned cozy home on the west side of Harrisburg, her quilts and crochet work alternating with family pictures and heirlooms, colorfully brighting the rooms. And she is eagerly looking forward to her coming Oct. 2 birthday.

"My newest great-granddaughter is going to be born in late October," Rumsey said happily. "That's a wonderful birthday present!"

When asked what she would do on her birthday, Rumsey said with a grin, "I guess I'll work on my puzzles some more."

Rumsey's other daughter, Paralle, and her son, Richard, would come to visit with their families. Rumsey particularly looks forward to seeing her six great-grandchildren, four girls and two boys.

Rumsey remembers how the city has grown and changed so much in her lifetime the downtown landscape changing as businesses and buildings came and went. More people and cars filled the streets as the city grew over the years.

"It seems like people got different over the years, though. They used to be nicer and more friendly," Rumsey said. "And visiting! People should visit more."

When asked what advice she would have for todays young men and women, Rumsey thought a second, smiled and said "I hope you live to have a long life like me. I think that trying to stay active mentally and physically all your life helps."