Howell resident enjoys 100th birthday bash Ira Peavy has plenty of stories to tell about years gone by BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer Ira Peavy (r) was honored on the occasion of his 100th birthday by family and friends including (l-r) state Senate candidate Steve Morlino, former Howell Mayor Tim Konopka, Monmouth County Freeholder Barbara McMorrow and Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery. HOWELL - Ira Peavy can remember exactly where he was and what he was doing when he found out that a world war had started - World War I that is. The centenarian who celebrated his 100th birthday on May 2 said he remembers the scene as clearly as if it were yesterday. His telling of the tale is an inspiration in and of itself and gave a reporter who was in attendance at his 100th birthday party goose bumps as she listened to the recounting because the clarity of Peavy's recollection is palpable and stirring. Peavy said he was 7 when he heard his older brother read a headline to their mother from The New York Times that announced Archduke Ferdinand of Austria had been assassinated and the world was now at war. The date was June 28, 1914. Peavy, who was honored for reaching the century mark, was as sharp that day as he was on a day four years ago when he drove himself to a township meeting to speak on a matter he believed needed to be addressed. Reminded by a reporter at the 100th birthday party the Howell Democratic Club threw for him May 6 that the two had met at that meeting four years ago and that the reporter had marveled then at his vitality, Peavy disclosed that was one of the last times he drove himself anywhere. Peavy said although he continues to enjoy good health and continued lucidity, he is a realist. Noting there is longevity in his family - his cousin is 102 and his parents lived into their late 80's and 90's - Peavy said he does not fear death for himself, but that his worst fear is that it could come while he was behind the wheel of a car. He said the possibility of harming another person is the reason he voluntarily relinquished his driving privileges four years ago. Helping Peavy celebrate his birthday were Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery, Monmouth County Democratic Freeholder Barbara McMorrow, Democratic freeholder candidate John D'Amico, former Howell mayors Timothy Konopka and Dan Massa, and Steve Morlino, who is the sergeant-at-arms for the Monmouth County Democratic Organization and the Democratic candidate for state Senate in the 30th Legislative District. Peavy's accolades included presidential and gubernatorial citations, and a mayoral proclamation read by Konopka. All of the guest speakers agreed that Peavy is a national treasure; a walking, talking compendium of the milestones of the last century. Peavy recounted how he was born at home in Manhattan in 1907 to a mother who was well educated, a college graduate who taught school, something rare for a woman of her day. He can relate stories of the California Gold Rush of 1849 that were told to him by his grandfather who was a "49'er" in that search for gold. According to Peavy, his mother's wedding ring was made from gold her father brought back from the California Gold Rush. A Peavy family tradition was established when both of his daughters wore their grandmother's "49'er" wedding ring on their own wedding day. For a time Peavy attended a pre-law course at New York University, but he eventually transferred to Columbia University where he studied metallurgy. When World War II broke out, Peavy served in the military as a member of the Signal Corps and also as a "functional" swimming instructor which he said entailed teaching troops how to keep from drowning while "swimming fully dressed with a back pack on your back and wearing a steel helmet." Among his souvenirs from his service in World War II were frostbite on his ears, nose and heels. Peavy's first wife, Francis, whom he married in 1941, had served as an army reporter and wrote depositions for the Nuremberg Trials. Francis died in 1983. Peavy later married his second wife, Clara, and she died in 1997. Although he made his career employed at Bethlehem Steel, Peavy returned to school following the war to study admiralty law. He also served as a director of the former Howell Township Municipal Utilities Authority (HTMUA) from 1988 to 1992. Peavy still gets riled up when holding forth on what he saw as the folly of disbanding the authority. "It was a disgrace to sell it to a private entity. The bonds would have been paid off by now and the residents had a lower rate," he said. Peavy moved to The Villages adult community in Howell in 1980 and served as the community's homeowner association president until resigning the position in 1988. He also served as a Democratic county committeeman representing The Villages from 1981-95. Peavy now alternates between living with his two daughters and two son-in-laws, Nancy and Marty Shapiro, and Harriet and Paul Burke. The two men playfully jockeyed for the title of favorite son-in-law at the party, proving how special Peavy is to them. "I used to have two daughters. Now I have two mothers," Peavy said with a broad grin. He clearly revels in the time he spends with his daughters' families which include six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Peavy now has the time to look proudly back on a life well lived that started in a year when the newest inventions included the sea plane, the wristwatch and the electric vacuum cleaner. The average family income was $1,091, a new car cost $600, the gas to run it was 6 cents a gallon and a new house cost $3,395. When Peavy was born on May 2, 1907, his mother was paying 4 cents for a loaf of bread and 6 cents for a gallon of milk. Gold sold for $20.67 an ounce (it is now at about $650); silver at 61 cents an ounce (it is now at about $13). Teddy Roosevelt was president of the United States (there were 45 states) and the Dow Jones stock market average was at 61 (today it is at 13,000). For a man born in a year when the average life expectancy was 48.7 years, Peavy has been more than lucky and anyone lucky enough to be able to visit with him in his leisure these days is being gifted with the opportunity to commune with history. There are those who talk about the good old days. Ira Peavy remembers them well and would love to tell you about them.