Ethel Telfer (centre) and her relatives. Photo by Diana Hall

The Gleaner Company Ltd.'s eldest pensioner Ethel Telfer is now 101 years old.

Ms. Telfer, who celebrated her birthday on December 28, started working at The Gleaner as an office helper in 1936.

Born in Mount Lebanus, Trinityville, St. Thomas, in 1906, she lived in the district until age 20 when she moved to Kingston to continue her profession as a dressmaker. After some time, she started working at The Gleaner at age 30 and remained there for 39 years.

Dressed in a red-striped dress and hair neatly combed back in a bun, Ms. Telfer recently shared memories of her time at The Gleaner.

"I got along with every member of staff [at The Gleaner], from the manager down to the one's that cleaned," she said.

Easy to talk to

"I worked with Mr. Michael DeCordova. He was the manager at my time. He (Mr. DeCordova) wasn't harsh. You could speak with him about anything and you'd get an answer," she added.

"But he was a very prud(ish) man. You had to understand him to work with him, and I understood him so I got along with him," she said. Her grandson, Horace Hale, describes Ms. Telfer as a strict but loving and kind person. "She was always there to make sure that I was all right," he said.

When The Gleaner visited Ms. Telfer at her Norman Gardens residence in Kingston, Mark Ricketts, who was also paying his great grandaunt a visit, said that, though she appeared to be healthy, Ms. Telfer "is suffering from what comes with age".

"She has arthritis and her hearing goes and comes," he said.