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HUNTLEY, Ill. (AP) — HUNTLEY - Kay Harlow was already past her 90th birthday when her daughter, Nancy Horney, suggested that she start volunteering once a week at the Huntley Area Public Library.
"She said, 'There's a job there I think you'd like, Mom, because it's a sit-down job and you like people,'" Harlow said. "I thought, 'Well, I'll try it.' That was the beginning of the end."
Eventually, once a week turned into twice a week, and nine years after she first started, Harlow celebrated her 100th birthday with her fellow volunteers Tuesday.
Harlow is one of dozens of volunteers who help library operations run smoothly, but a news release from the library celebrating Harlow's milestone noted she is "unlike any other volunteer in the 26-year history of the district."
It's not often you come across a centenarian in the Chicago suburbs with a strong New York accent, one who was born in England and is affectionately called "the Queen Mum" by her family members.
"She's very positive, upbeat, comes in with a smile," said Pamela Kampwerth, the library's head of Volunteer & Outreach Services. "She makes us laugh. She has stories. She's a great storyteller. She's lived a long time."
Harlow, a resident of the Sun City subdivision, said working at the library is a habit that helps her stay sharp. She said she once spent two weeks living in an assisted-living facility and found it wasn't for her.
"I realize you just fade out of the picture if you're not in the right surroundings, and I think that's my ace in the hole," Harlow said. "The library is a big part of it. They accept me as one of them, not as some 100-year-old lady."
She said she enjoys connecting with younger people. She used to be a Sunday school teacher and camp counselor, and now, she often keeps in touch with her grandchildren by playing Scrabble against them on her iPad.
She said she looks forward to her time in the circulation department, where she enjoys laughing and sharing family stories with her fellow volunteers.
Harlow, a mother of two, a grandmother of nine ("biological, adopted and step-grandchildren"), great-grandmother to 16, and great-great-great-grandmother to two, had family travel from places as far as Arizona, New York and Philadelphia to celebrate her birthday with her last weekend.
Kampwerth organized a small celebration for Harlow's birthday Tuesday with the library's other volunteers and patrons.
Harlow said she'd recommend volunteering to anyone who is able.
"It's a wonderful thing for someone in my position," Harlow said. "There's so many things I can't do anymore, and it drives me crazy, things I've done all my life.
"It gives me an incentive to get dressed properly, to see that my hair is done properly and to talk to people and meet people and be accepted by people. It's a wonderful thing for people my age."
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Source: The (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald, http://bit.ly/1PDlf4M
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Information from: The Northwest Herald, http://www.nwherald.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by The (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald.
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