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A Leading Lady

At age 103, Angelina Strandal looks and acts years younger than chronology would dictate. Even she was surprised, though, when a postcard arrived a couple of weeks before her most recent birthday inviting her to come-free of charge-to the local Discovery Zone. Apparently their database accommodated only meager two-digit ages, rendering her a perky three-year-old. Still, what could be more fun than to climb through the gerbil's cage of kids' amusements they offer and finish off with a game of "Spin-Out"?

"It's very kind of them to offer," she says, "but I don't think I'll be going. I think they need to take a look at their computer."

Not that Strandal fears center stage; as one of the most humorous and engaging subjects in Dr. Tom Perls's study of Massachusetts centenarians, she's been featured on Channel 5's Chronicle and NBC's Nightly News, and in articles in the Boston Herald and Quincy Patriot Ledger.

Strandal was born on Prince Edward Island in 1893 and moved to the Boston area in 1917. After seven years of marriage, her husband died in 1931, and she began raising her children, Philip and Barbara, on her own. She worked at department stores and supermarkets to support her family, but never admitted to being overwhelmed by the challenge. "The money was clean," she says proudly. "I didn't mind working for it."

Strandal attributes her longevity to healthy personal habits, like eating vegetables. She doesn't watch television, but maintains her interest in poetry and still follows politics closely through the newspapers. She has even come close to endorsing a candidate. "I'm not voting for Dole," she says with a smile. "He's too old."
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