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--> --> Nov. 9: Winnie's angels made madcap sense By Rev. Scott Dalgarno While hundreds of little goblins were raiding our streets this last October 31st, Winifred Clare Wilkie, perhaps Ashland's oldest citizen, passed on quietly in her sleep. She was 103. She was born on May, 10, 1899. Her life spanned three centuries (think of it!), she predated the airplane. At the end she couldn't see or hear a blessed thing, but her mind was as sharp as can be, belying the idea that dementia is unavoidable in old age. I have never known a dearer woman. Winifred was known as "everyone's favorite." With her marvelous sense of humor, deep brogue, and kindly ways she won the hearts of all who knew her. The woman didn't just live through a patch of history, she made some. During World War I (yes, World War I) she made tires for the Dunlop Tire and Rubber Company in Edinburgh, running the big machines with grace and expertise. She was recognized as "the world's first female vulcanist." During those war years she saw Germany's Graf Zeppelin go over Scotland. It was the first inkling anyone had that war could be wrought on civilians from the air on a horrific scale. She came to America along with her husband, George, in 1930. They weathered the Depression nicely, working in a number of pretty posh eastern hotels. Their daughter, Dorothy, brought them west to this little berg in 1957 where they lived ever since. In 1961 "Winnie," as she was known here, met with others at the home of Etta Schilling, founding the Ashland Senior Citizens' Club. Winnie's husband died in 1970, but Winnie herself just went on and on. She was still weeding her own yard at 95. At the age of 99 she broke her hip. She didn't fall, it just gave way due to age. She managed to crawl to a chair where she spent the night until her daughter, living next door, noticed that her curtains weren't pulled and something had to be amiss. That night Winifred spent what she later would call her "special night with the angels." Two odd little women visited her, she said. Only later did she come to think that they might have been heaven-sent. These angels weren't, however, anything out of Leonardo Da Vinci, or even Raphael. These angels were wacky. They had lousy manners and were rather dismissive, like angels you might find at a garage sale. One made herself at home on Winnie's couch "without even asking." The other sat on a chair. Most of the night they ignored her, she said. They wouldn't even fetch her so much as a blanket. One of them, I've forgotten which, took the liberty of putting her feet up on Winnie's coffee table - which drove her to distraction. Once Dorothy rescued her and she was in the hospital awaiting surgery Winnie said she was very thankful for their company. Though they had terrible manners they had served to take her mind off her own distress. I've always been delighted by this account. Frankly, I'm skeptical of purported visions of heavenly messengers. The popularity of the television series, "Touched By An Angel," served only to make me more dubious about them than ever, probably out of spite. But Winnie's angels make a certain madcap sense to me. These are angels I can believe in. If I ever drew angels to myself I imagine they'd be like Winnie's. They'd probably smoke, chew gum, and interrupt, charming me with their antics. I'd be "entertaining angels, unaware," (to quote the apostle, Paul) just like Winnie, until later when I would get the heavenly message, whatever it might be. That's often the way it is with the holy. You can never pin it down. G.K. Chesterton got it right, I think, when he said, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly." The Rev. Scott Dalgarno is pastor of Ashland's First Presbyterian Church. He writes an occasional column for the Daily Tidings and can be reached at scottdalgarno@ hotmail.com Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing