By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On Nov. 23, more than 100 people stopped by the Erieville Fire Department to celebrate the 100th birthday of long-time Erieville-area resident Celia L. Odell Markowski.
Born Nov. 22, 1919, Markowski was the eldest child of Clarence and Elsie Seeley Odell.
The Odell family grew to include six children — two girls and four boys.
Markowski spent her first several years living on a farm about 1.5 miles northeast of the hamlet of Erieville, on what is now Chaphe Hill Road.
She has lived in the Erieville-area for nearly her entire life.
“It’s the people, for one thing,” she said. “And there’s family, friends and the weather.”
Her husband, Peter passed away in 1986. Their son, also named Peter, was raised in the area and now resides on Long Island.
Markowski currently lives just outside of Erieville in West Eaton, in between her two grandsons, Kevin and Peter.
“I’ve helped take care of them since they were born,” she said. “Now I wouldn’t be able to get along without them.”
Following the death of her husband, Markowski found employment providing care to senior citizens.
“They were nice people and good friends,” she said. “I was just so glad to be doing something. Before my husband died I made a lot of cakes — wedding cakes, all occasion cakes, everything. [Following his death,] a lady from the office of the aging came to see what I was going to do. I told her that . . . I could either take care of older people and sick people or make cakes. There wasn’t that much money in the cakes, so I went to work and [continued to work] until 1999 or 2000, when I retired.”
According to fellow Erieville resident Denise Earl, Markowski’s cakes were “edible works of art.”
“At the 100th birthday celebration, I was speaking with a couple of women about Celia,” Earl said. “I mentioned that she had made the wedding cake for one of my daughters. Both these gals replied that she had done theirs too.”
While Markowski is no longer able to make cakes or pursue some of her other hobbies, she has started to consider new pastimes.
“My step-granddaughter in Long Island wants me to write down my life story,” she said. “I also have a lot of photographs that I want to do something with. I hope I’ll get to it. One day at a time.”
Markowski has spent several decades volunteering time and resources to a number of local organizations, including CazCares, Community Memorial Hospital, the Erieville United Methodist Women’s Association, the Erieville Grange, and the Erieville-Nelson Heritage Society (ENHS).
She also served as an Erieville Cemetery Association trustee for many years.
In 1999, the Town of Nelson and the ENHS presented Markowski with the Norman Odell Citizen of the Year award.
In 2006, the Madison County Office for the Aging named her Senior Citizen of the Year.
When the weather is agreeable, Markowski continues to attend monthly senior luncheons that she and a friend started at the Erieville Fire Department about 14 years ago.
“We’re still doing it,” she said. “We have one on the third Wednesday of the month, except January and February. We usually have anywhere from 20 to 35 or 40 people depending on the occasion. Last week we had our Thanksgiving one and it was well attended.”
According to Markowski, her hometown of Erieville has changed considerably throughout the years.
“Naturally, a lot of businesses have gone out that used to be here” she said. “I’m just glad that Kay’s store downtown is still open. Houses have gone down too and a lot of people have moved away that lived here when I was small.”
In an article written for the ENHS publication “Hills and Hollows,” Markowski described multiple aspects of her childhood, noting that her homes were primarily heated with firewood; that most of her dresses were sewn by her mother and washed on a washboard; that electricity did not come to town until 1930; and that on occasions when the snow was too deep for the bus, she was transported to school by horses and sleigh.
Throughout her long life, Markowski has also witnessed changes resulting from the introduction of countless inventions that “just make life easier.” She pointed specifically to telephones, better cars, and various home appliances.
Although she does not watch much television today — preferring to listen to the radio — Markowski clearly remembers the introduction of television into her home.
“My son and his friends would go to the neighbors . . . and watch Howdy Doody and all the other kids programs,” she said. “Then we got one around 1953. It was a television and radio and phonograph all together. The screen on the TV was not very large.”
Markowski attributes her longevity to her faith and attitude.
“I know that the good Lord is looking over me, because it always seems like he’s around,” she said. “I’ve always felt like there was nothing that I couldn’t do if I set my mind to it . . . Just take care of yourself as much as you can, believe in the lord, and take it one day at a time.”
Markowski celebrated her birthday at the fire department with friends, family and a number of people she had not seen in years.
“It was overwhelming,” she said. “It was so good to see everyone. It was a good afternoon . . . and it was a beautiful day, so I’m thankful for that too . . . I appreciate everything that everyone does for me, and I appreciate everyone who came to my party. Really, I’m just thankful for everything in my life.”
