Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/13061
LONGBEACHMAGAZINE.COM 53 FEATURE : LONG LIVE LIVING LONG Flaig has seen her share of changes. Raised in Oklahoma, she and her family drove west to California in 1926 in search of better opportunities. The family settled in Long Beach, where her father, Harry McGuire, found work in the oil industry. Flaig went on to attend Hamilton Junior High School, Poly High School, and Long Beach City College to study general education and languages. Also adept in mathematics, she studied accounting and made that her career until motherhood. Flaig described this city's numerous incarnations — when houses were still being built on undeveloped land, the city was home to a naval base, various waves of immigration, and now as the state's fifth-largest city. "The downtown area — every time I see pictures, I am amazed by these great, big buildings," she said. "It's amazing." Flaig has since retired from volunteer work, but she still keeps busy. She gets together with friends for lunch, gardens and participates in the Christian Women's Fellowship at Bixby Knolls Christian Church. She's also a lifetime member of the Eastern Star, an adoptive rite of Freemasonry that accepts both men and women. Intellectual and cultural stimulation was a hallmark in Irene Hetzel's household, as is resilience. Irene and her husband Victor lived through the uncertainties of the Depression, when teaching jobs were scarce for Irene, and Victor sold Coca-Cola door-to-door, despite his Stanford education. There was the 6.4-magnitude quake that rocked Long Beach in 1933, wrecking the buildings at the Lynwood school where Hetzel taught. Victor fought during World War II in the Pacific Theater. There were many wonderful times, too. The couple traveled often, crisscrossing the country and venturing up to Canada for camping trips with their boys. Later, their travels took them overseas, from the coastline of the former Yugoslavia to the countryside of Chile. Before CSULB dismantled its International Community Council — a program designed to help international students culturally adjust during their U.S. stay — Hetzel opened her home to students hailing from as far away as Asia and Israel. She and her family shared Thanksgiving and Christmases together. Years later, many of these students flew in from overseas to celebrate her 100th birthday with other well-wishers in the Hetzel home's backyard garden. These days, Hetzel continues to remain busy. Now in her 35th year as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, she still delivers meals door-to-door in the city with the help of a driver. She also tends to her garden, plays bridge, spends time with friends and volunteers at her church. "I think the formula [to longevity] is to keep living," Ellestad said. n