08/30/2026
Vida Metcalf to observe 90th
Oberlin Herald - August 21, 1986
By Donna Martin
Ninety years in one place is quite awhile. However, much depends on the circumstances. Thursday, August 28, 1986, marks 90 years for Vida Metcalf in Decatur County.
The former Vida Berry, she was born in the Olive Chapel neighborhood, lived on a farm a few miles northeast of Oberlin, moved to town in 1963, and now resides at the Good Samaritan Center in Oberlin.
“I’ve always taken care of myself,” was her reply when asked about her longevity.
When Vida was only 12 years old, her mother took her by train to Kansas City to have her appendix removed. The combination of the train ride, the big city, and a fairly new type of surgery for that time made the event unforgettable.
She recalls only one regret - that she quit high school before she graduated. “A couple more years at that time wouldn’t have been so bad,” she remembers.
Before she was married, she worked as a clerk in the Oberlin Cash Store. It was a general merchandise business that carried dry goods, clothing, and groceries among other items of everyday importance.
She married Elmer Metcalf when she was 24 years old. They built their house in Harlan Township in Decatur County. Until the house was finished, they lived first in the barn, then in a tent, completing their construction before cold weather came to stay.
BUSY LIFE
“Life was busy then,” Vida recalls. “Everything was done by hand. We didn’t have time to get into much trouble.”
Not only was there a lot to be done, but also farm hands had to be fed, particularly during harvest season. At about the same time, canning and preservation of garden produce had to be done.
The farmers in the school district provided room and board for the teachers. Most of them were women, and the families took turns boarding, but the responsibility of an extra added to the duties of the homemaker during much of the year.
During the ‘30s, Vida recalls many in-transits who would come to stay long enough to get their washing done and a full stomach. They were willing enough though to help with whatever work there was to be done.
The Metcalfs enjoyed some of the benefits of 32 volt electricity before many of the neighbors. Elmer was a dealer for Jacob’s Wind Plants and had the system set up for their use at home.
(These were pioneering, highly dependable wind-electric generators created by brothers Marcellus and Joseph Jacobs in the 1920s to bring off-grid power to rural farms and ranches.)
Today, Vida shares her room at the Good Samaritan Center with Effie Olson, and they are often referred to as the “Bobsy twins” by others at the Center.
“We get along well,” Viday says, “and we are about the same age. We go everywhere together and look out for one another.”
She misses some of the things she used to do, like gardening, raising flowers, and making jelly, but she is alert and satisfied with life.
Her family plans an open house at the Good Samaritan Center, and a card shower is also planned. “I hope I get lots of cards from all my friends.”
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Vida May Berry was born August 28, 1896, in Olive Township to Samuel and Anna (Miller) Berry. She grew up with four brothers - Roscoe, Clyde, Harold, and Graham, and three sisters - Flossie Jordan, Vena Miller, and Leah Fraker.
Vida and Elmer Metcalf were married at her parents’ home May 16, 1920. They had two sons - Dole and Gary, and a daughter - Betty Berdine Stramel.
She passed away November 10, 1988, at the age of 92. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband in 1974, her daughter in 1965, a grandson in 1962, her four brothers and two sisters.
She was survived by her sons and their wives - Dole and Phyllis, and Gary and Mary, her sister Leah Fraker, seven grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.
Below -Dominos provided entertainment for families in the early 1900s where cards were unacceptable. Shown here are Vida Metcalf (right) and Vera Landau playing the game at the Good Samaritan Center, Oberlin.
