Barbara Tolman and her daughter, Laurel Parker
Unity Gardens, Avesta Housing’s affordable housing community for ages 62 and older in Windham, can now count a centenarian among its residents! Barbara Tolman celebrated her 100th birthday on May 10 with her daughter, Laurel, and fellow residents with a party in the community room, followed by a more intimate gathering with family the next day.
A native of Watertown, Mass., Barbara was a homemaker who raised two children in New Hampshire before moving to Scarborough with her husband, Charles “Bill” Tolman, in the early ’70s. “I never worked, because Bill’s mother always had to work, and he said his wife was NOT going to work,” she said. “So I did some little things here and there, but I never really worked a real job.”*
When Bill passed away at age 95 in 2017, Barbara realized that it was time to leave her home and applied for an apartment at Unity Gardens.
“She was aging, and she knew very well that she couldn’t stay in her house,” Laurel said. “But I didn’t realize how much she didn’t want to be in her house until she got the offer to come here. She was like, ‘Get it done!’”
Despite Barbara’s age, her mind remains sharp. The community room was adorned with dozens of photos taken throughout her lifetime, and she was able to tell stories about all of them. She credits her long life to the fact that she doesn’t drink or smoke. “Never have,” she said.**
Laurel said the idea for a party was a joint effort between her and her mother. “We thought it was an opportunity to offer some good fun and fellowship for people,” she said. “I mean, come on — how many centenarian birthday parties have you been to?”
When asked how it felt to be 100, Barbara said, “It’s kind of weird. I don’t know that I’ll like writing ‘100’ when I’m asked, ‘How old are you?’ (Laughs). But other than that, I don’t feel too different.”
*That’s not entirely true. Barbara worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” for a precision tool manufacturing company during World War II and volunteered for numerous organizations, including Girl Scouts and YWCA, while married.
**That’s not entirely true either. She did try smoking once, when she was 18. “Two cigarettes were all I could take,” she said. “I never liked it, and I was fortunate to marry a man who didn’t do it either.”
