Family, friends celebrate woman’s 109th birthday

HUBBARD — Today, Nellie Beach is thankful to see her 109th birthday.

Born in 1908 in Yorkshire, England, Beach arrived at Ellis Island in New York with her parents when she was 14, and moved to Youngstown.

Now, she lives at The Countryside at Elmwood assisted-living apartments, celebrating a long life with her friends and family at her side.

Though she moved into the apartments less than two years ago, Beach already has made friends, many of whom joined her in the facility’s group dining area for tea and birthday cake to celebrate her birthday.

Beach worked most of her life, for a time as a winder at a General Electric Mazda Lamp factory, then later as a welder and professional maid. According to her family, Beach’s mother agreed to fudge her birth certificate when she was 14 to make it seem as though she were 16, allowing her to start working two years earlier than

allowed by law.

Beach had a brother and a sister, Jack and Bessy Meadows. She was extremely close with her siblings, and her brother taught her to weld.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com