By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Mabelle Mase enjoys being with and helping others. Throughout her life, it is a safe bet that she's done a lot of both.
Today Mase, of Salina, celebrates her 103 birthday!
While she has seen a lot through the years, it is the people she has encountered for whom she has the fondest memories.
Mase was born Aug. 29, 1918, in Centralia, Kan., the fourth of six children.
"We lived on a farm and my favorite animal has always been the horses. We rode horses a lot. I think they put me on a horse when I was about 18 months old," she said.
Growing up, Mase also enjoyed school. It was a passion that would shape much of her adult life.
"School was it!" she said and smiled. "I was eager for it every day, partly for the kids, but probably mostly for what was in the books."
After graduating from high school in Centralia, Mase went to Kansas State University, where she earned a teaching degree. Mase said she originally had planned to teach home economics, but she switched to elementary education.
While she was at K-State, her family moved to Ottawa County, so Mase found herself beginning her teaching career at a school just outside of Minneapolis, where she taught for two years before getting married. She later taught third grade in the Minneapolis district for 17 years.
Mase then decided to pursue a master's degree in special education from the University of Kansas. After completing that degree, she then taught at Hawthorne Elementary School in Salina "for a good long while."
Throughout her teaching career, Mase found delight in her students.
"I loved teaching and I loved the children. I enjoyed each one of them," she said.
While she liked to travel and visited Europe, Canada, and Mexico, being home was what Mase has enjoyed the most.
"I loved activities with the local ladies, like bridge and various other activities," she said. "That is what I really enjoyed, the activities with the other ladies and the neighbors."
Mase also has accomplished many hours of volunteer work to help others. One of Mase's volunteer efforts was with 4-H.
"I was a 4-H club leader for a short time, but mostly I saw to it that my girls had a good 4-H background," she said.
She also was active in delivering Meals on Wheels.
Another of Mase's life adventures was as a house mother for the Pi Phi house at the University of New Mexico.
"I loved being a house mother," she said.
Basically, Mase enjoys people and helping others.
While she plans to spend today with loved ones, the celebration will continue into Monday as Salina Presbyterian Manor, where she lives, has planned a celebration in her honor.
So what advice does this woman who has made 103 trips around the sun have for those younger than her?
"Live each day as it comes and work with its problems and its pleasures, but mostly to enjoy life along the way," she said.
Happy birthday, Mabelle!