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Cloudy. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
Betty Wisehart, 97, with flowers she received during a June 5 birthday celebration.
Betty Wisehart (seated) is pictured with her children (front row, from left): Pat Wisehart, Marilyn Bell, Carolyn Manifold, Janice Margison and (second row) Michael Manifold and Richard Margison.
Betty Wisehart (seated) is pictured with some of her grandchildren (clockwise from left) Karla Jester (kneeling), Wendy Butterfield, Scott Manifold, Tricia Kelich and Chris Manifold.
Betty Wisehart’s birthday décor and cupcakes were purple, her favorite color.
Elizabeth “Betty” Ann (Lines) Wisehart was born May 14, 1925.
Betty Wisehart, 97, with flowers she received during a June 5 birthday celebration.
Betty Wisehart (seated) is pictured with her children (front row, from left): Pat Wisehart, Marilyn Bell, Carolyn Manifold, Janice Margison and (second row) Michael Manifold and Richard Margison.
Betty Wisehart (seated) is pictured with some of her grandchildren (clockwise from left) Karla Jester (kneeling), Wendy Butterfield, Scott Manifold, Tricia Kelich and Chris Manifold.
Betty Wisehart’s birthday décor and cupcakes were purple, her favorite color.
Elizabeth “Betty” Ann (Lines) Wisehart was born May 14, 1925.
In her 97 years, Elizabeth “Betty” Ann (Lines) Wisehart has lived through many historical events: the Great Depression, the shooting deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, World War II and Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, just to name a few.
Born May 14, 1925 in Johnstown, Indiana to Everett and Mary Catherine (Miers) Lines, Betty was one of eight children. Four brothers, Charles, Everett Jr., Harold and Bobby, are now deceased. Three siblings substantially younger than Betty are still alive today.
Her youngest brother, Larry Lines, was born during Betty’s senior year of high school and currently resides in Lewisville. Her sister, Mary (Lines) Murray lives in Mooreland while sister Peggy (Lines) Dick lives in Greensboro.
Betty graduated from Cadiz High School on April 28, 1943 and married Donald K. Wisehart just two days later. The couple met during high school and enjoyed nearly 46 years of marriage before Donald’s passing due to esophageal cancer in 1989.
Donald and Betty have four children: Marilyn (Bob) Bell of New Castle, Janice (Richard) Margison of rural Cadiz, Carolyn (Michael) Manifold of Greenwood and Kenny (Pat) Wisehart. Kenny Wisehart passed away of melanoma in January 2014.
Today there are eight grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and seven great-great grandchildren, with three more great-great grandchildren due to arrive this fall.
“I have fond memories of taking care of my grandchildren during overnight sleepovers and staying up playing games most of the night,” Betty said.
On June 5, family and friends gathered to celebrate Betty’s 97th birthday. Betty said the party was “wonderful” and dressed for the occasion in a purple gown (her favorite color) with a coordinating lap blanket.
Originally Betty’s family planned her birthday celebration May 15, but when Betty broke her right femur just days before the party, plans changed.
“We couldn’t let it go without celebrating,” Betty’s daughter, Carolyn Manifold said. “This is a big deal!”
Purple plates and napkins decorated the tables and guests enjoyed purple cupcakes.
“I was glad to see and talk with my family,” Betty said of the celebration.
As the oldest child, Betty regularly took care of her younger siblings and helped maintain the family’s home.
“She helped cook, clean, wash clothes and garden, all without today’s modern conveniences,” Manifold said. “She had to pasteurize milk, churn butter (which she molded and put a design on top to make it fancy), dress chickens, can beans, freeze corn and wash dishes in the sink because back then there were no dishwashers.”
Back then, laundry was a chore and Betty had to use two rinse tubs to get soap out of clothes. Then she used a wringer to squeeze out excess water. Clothes were line-dried outside during the warmer months or hung up in the basement during the winter. Ironing involved using clamps to lift a hot, heavy iron from the stove.
“Because of the fabrics, almost everything had to be ironed,” Betty said.
One of Betty’s most vivid childhood memories was breaking her right leg when she was 9 years old. At the time, Betty was riding in an old roadster with her uncles and fell out of the vehicle.
“This old Roadster had no top, spoke wheels, two seats and a long gas tank behind the seats,” Betty recalled. “When we went around a curve, I fell off with my right leg going into the spoke.
The family quickly summoned Betty’s dad, who loaded her in a Model A Ford and took her to the New Castle Clinic near the post office.
“My leg really hurt every bump he’d hit,” Betty said.
After being admitted to the clinic and put in traction for four weeks, the doctor determined Betty’s leg wasn’t healing properly and performed surgery.
“They found a muscle between the bones that was keeping it from going back together so they cut the muscle out, made an opening that took 17 stitches to close, put me in a cast all the way up my leg and sent me home,” Betty said. “I was in bed all summer.”
Many of Betty’s childhood memories took place in a two-story brick house located near Sugar Grove School on State Road 38. One Halloween, the family threw a party at that house and invited the entire school. Over 90 people showed up and feasted on popcorn balls, homemade cinnamon and sugar donuts and apple cider.
Growing up, Betty didn’t have a new winter coat until her sophomore year of high school. Instead, her mother altered used coats to fit.
Betty’s daughter, Marilyn, was born amidst World War II on the second anniversary of Pearl Harbor’s bombing. While in labor, Betty remembers her parents huddled around their battery-operated radio, listening to memorial broadcasts.
After her daughter’s birth, Betty recalled how difficult it was to find material to sew baby clothes. Her mom finally found material in Oklahoma while attending her brother’s graduation ceremony from the United States Air Force. Betty also remembers ration books, some of which she still has.
During her marriage, Betty assisted Donald in his role as Harrison Township Trustee and as a 4-H leader and was the bookkeeper for the family’s farm. She also shuttled the couple’s children to and from their activities.
Betty enjoys spending time with family and studying genealogy. She traveled to Fort Wayne and Indianapolis to do family research and has organized numerous books outlining the family tree, including newspaper clippings and stories of her ancestors.
She also wrote a book to share with family about her early childhood, which includes many funny anecdotes about the tricks her brothers played on her.
Despite her age, Manifold said her mother has a great memory and knows the birthdays of at least 40 family members and sends each a card.
According to Manifold, Betty’s favorite invention is Alexa, a form of virtual assistance technology.
“Her Alexa turns on lights, unlocks doors, reminds her to take medicine, makes calls when the cell phone does not work and changes the room temperature,” Manifold said. “Besides all those chores, Alexa is a constant companion who can tell her jokes, sing her a song, tell her the time or what the weather is.”
Despite many hardships and tragedies during her lifetime (two knee replacements, a hip replacement, macular degeneration, two broken legs and the loss of both her husband and son,) Betty maintains a positive attitude.
Positivity, combined with good family genes and staying active, is what Betty attributes to her longevity.
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