From NewsChannel 9: A 99-year-old Cleveland woman is proving age is really just a number. She's handmaking thousands of hats to keep
From NewsChannel 9: A 99-year-old Cleveland woman is proving age is really just a number.
She’s handmaking thousands of hats to keep those in need warm.
Bliss Zechman at The McMahan Law Firm surprised her with $500.
There are more than 99 reasons to love Eleanor Simmonds. Her friend Alline Goins can name just a few.
“She’s 99-years-old. She does everything for the community. The homeless shelter, the Indian reservations in South Dakota. She makes all of the hats and toboggans and she pays for it all out of her own social security check every month,” said Alline Goins who nominated Eleanor Simmonds for Pay it Forward.
Simmonds, who has called Cleveland home for about six years, just celebrated her 99th birthday on March 30. She was born in 1924. She marked the milestone by making hats.
“The weird part about this is she does this, then she has to go to the food bank to get her own food,” said Goins.
No surprise, her reaction to receiving $500 is priceless.
“I thought they were 10s!” said Simmonds.
Eleanor has earned it. Just last year, she and her 71-year-old daughter made more than 1,100 hats and shipped hundreds across the country for those in need.
“Oh, I like it. I sure do. It keeps me busy,” said Simmonds.
Eleanor grew up on a dairy farm in New Jersey with 15 brothers and sisters!
When she was a kid, she took a tough tumble off a silo.
Doctors told her she’d be crippled, wheelchair bound and die before she turned 21.
“I’m not 21 yet!” said Simmonds.
As she nears a century of life, Eleanor still refuses to use a wheelchair and her family continues to grow.
She has four children, eight grandkids, nine great-grandchildren and five great-great grandbabies.
“She’s a bright star for all of us. She gives us all the inspiration to go on. I love her like a mother,” said Goins.
You might be wondering, what’s the secret? Here’s what Simmonds says:
“Trusting in God. And no drinking and no smoking and no dope. None of that stuff,” said Simmonds.
As long as her hands work, she plans to keep knitting when she hits 100.
In 99 years of life, we ask what her favorite memory is. Here’s what she told us:
“Oh my goodness. Just what happened today. That $500. I can’t get over it!” said Simmonds.
“With that money. we can make a lot of hats!” said Simmonds.
