1921 was a year filled with events. Frederick Banting and Charles Best discover insulin in Toronto; Chanel No. 5 perfume was launched by Coco Chanel; Winston Churchill became Secretary of State for the Colonies; Babe Ruth set the home-run record; First Lady Nancy Reagan was born Anne Francis Robbins in New York and, in Forest, Ontario, Donna Christmann (nee Armstrong) was born on July 15th.
At 100, on July 15th, 2021, the youthful-looking Donna celebrated her birthday surrounded by family and friends.
“Donna was considered a real ‘beauty’ when young and, today, she is an elegant woman who is always perfectly groomed and gracious,” says her cousin Pauline Grantham. “She and my mother were good friends who met their husbands on the Port Elgin beach.”
Pauline’s mother, Donna’s mother and (Southampton) Dale Sherwood’s father were three of 12 children, making the three women cousins. Donna was born the eldest of seven girls and her youngest sister Ellen is now the only other surviving sister.
“I have a picture of Donna as a beautiful young woman holding a handful of money,” says cousin Dale Sherwood. “It was taken when she worked in a china store in London and often did the buying for the store. It was a time when fine china was in demand and many Americans used to shop there. Although she didn’t use cosmetics, she always wore lipstick and had her nails painted. She enjoys playing Bridge and remembers EVERY CARD!”
Donna and her husband Cecil, better known as Poag (Pogy), lived in Port Elgin for more than 70 years ago. ‘Pogy’ was employed by the C.N.R. for 34 years, most of that time working as a conductor, but who was also a brakeman on the ill-fated train #179, the night of Hurricane Hazel and that derailed in Southampton killing two crew members. A lifelong Port Elginite, Cecil was active in local politics and was a Councilor for the Town of Port Elgin. He was also very involved in Masonic circles as Donna too was active in the Order of the Eastern Star. The couple had three sons, Paul (deceased), Mark and Brent, who both live in Port Elgin.
Until a year a half ago, when Donna fell and broke her ankle, she lived on her own – maintaining a home, cooking, doing laundry and shopping with a keen eye for sales. She and her friend, Port Elgin’s Jeanette Steeves, well-known in musical fields, enjoyed listening to the radio and quizzing each other on current events.
Following her fall however, Donna moved to the Kelso Pines Retirement Lodge in Owen Sound, where her family and friends held an out-of-doors birthday celebration on her very special birthday.
