April 22, 1998
'Lucky to be here'
World War I veteran celebrates 102
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
His life, so far, spanning two centuries, Stanley Cherry is planning to ring in a third in the year 2000. The area's last-known remaining World War I veteran celebrated his 102nd birthday last week, and he has every intention of celebrating his 105th on April 13, 2000.
What is the secret to Cherry's longevity?
"I had some awful hard times, especially in the army during the war," Cherry reminisced, while proudly displaying 35 birthday cards he received from a party at his Garfield Township adult foster care home. "I guess I'm lucky, lucky to be here."
His daughter Joanne Hawley of Traverse City believes in her own theory and it doesn't include luck, just positive thinking.
"Dad always wished for another year on his birthdays for years," she said.
His wish keeps coming true, year after year, but luck still may have played a part.
As a World War I soldier, Cherry survived the worldwide flu epidemic of 1918. He was packed in the hold of a cattle ship with hundreds of other soldiers bound for Europe.
As the epidemic swept through the ship and more than a half-dozen men were buried at sea each day, Cherry recalled lying in a hammock for three days, too sick to move. When he finally crawled to the kitchen, the cook gave him some broth, coffee and a shot of brandy.
"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be here today," said Cherry, who still remembers his serial number, 1367870, and his division fight songs. "We all had the flu and were seasick, packed in like cattle. But the German U-boats were sinking everything and they put us on whatever ship they could."
Luck later emerged again for Cherry. Soon after he completed machine gun training and was heading to the front lines in France, the Armistice was signed and the war was over. That day, November 11, 1918, now marks Veteran's Day.
But Cherry, then a member of an occupying army, recalled that hard times still remained.
"I remember soldiers selling blankets and trading stuff for milk and food," said Cherry, who came home after a year overseas. "But we did have a big party before leaving France, and one of the families nearby brought a dozen cases of 50-year-old champagne."
World War I marked Cherry's last time in Europe, but it was not his first. He was born in 1896 in Poland, which was then a part of Russia. When he was 8, his mother brought the family to Michigan to join his father, an immigrant lumberjack in Boyne Falls.
Cherry and his five brothers and sisters had grown up on a farm, learning English at school while working hard to eke out a living. They sold meat and produce to five nearby lumber mills. Cherry attended school only three days a week before dropping out after the ninth grade.
"Our dad believed in work, all work and no play," he said. Although "I did play on a basketball team that was unbeatable; we had speed and teamwork and the other teams in Boyne City would just sit down when they saw us."
As an adult, Cherry owned a grocery store in Elmira for more than 30 years. During the Depression he met his future wife, Lucille, who was vacationing in the area with her Detroit family. The couple were married for 63 years before Lucille died three years ago.
Last October, Cherry sold his Elmira home to move to Traverse City to be closer to his daughters. He now spends his days visiting with his daughters and playing pinochle with his foster-care home roommates.