Baxter woman hits century mark on Groundhog Day

Every year on Groundhog Day, Ethel Berry celebrates her birthday.

“Everybody reminds me of that. They won’t let me forget it,” Ethel said. This year on Feb. 2, however, the Baxter Health Care Center resident will be turning 100.

Ethel Berry was born southeast of Colo and grew up on a farm, where she helped her mother work in the garden and gather the eggs. She attended Harsh School beginning at the age of 4 when she started walking to school with her brother, John “Dick” Walter Patterson.

She attended high school in Baxter when her parents moved there when she was 14 years old, and she played on the Baxter basketball team. She married Alden Berry and they farmed near Baxter for 18 years, until the couple moved to town when Alden bought a pool hall.

Ethel worked for the Congregational Church in Baxter and served a term on the Baxter City Council. She also operated Ethel’s Salon in Baxter for 40 years. She was a member of the Baxter Women’s Association.

Ethel had lived in senior housing in Baxter until last August when she moved to Baxter Health Care Center. She says she can still read without her glasses.

“It would have to be pretty small type for me to put on my glasses,” she said.

A party is being planned for Ethel at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 2, and she would enjoy receiving a birthday card from friends. Cards can be sent to Baxter Health Care Center, 407 S. East Avenue, Baxter, IA 50028.