On Tuesday, May 14, 2024, the Acton Senior Center hosted a luncheon in honor of Acton seniors who are 90 years old or older. According to the Town census, there are over two hundred fifty residents who are in their 90s and about 50 attended.
May is Older Americans Month, so the Acton Council on Aging (COA) invited “nonagenarians” to attend the free event, which was sponsored by Bridges by EPOCH of Westford and Sudbury.
Now, a “nonagenarian” is a person between 90 and 99. And if you do the math, this means they were born between 1925 and 1934.
According to conventional wisdom, people born during those years are members of the so-called “silent generation.” The name comes from a 1950s Time magazine article that refers to the generation’s childhood discipline, which taught children to be “seen but not heard.”
But the lively group that gathered at the Acton Senior Center weren’t silent and they defied other stereotypes of what has also been called the “Traditionalist Generation” and “Radio Babies.”
In fact, the Pew Research Center recently acknowledged, “As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations.”
In addition, Sharon Mercurio, the COA Director, says, “Staying active and social has proven to help increase longevity and Acton is living proof.”
To find out who the oldest person in the room was, people were asked to raise their hands if they had just turned 90. Then, if they were 91, 92, 93, etc.
The oldest person at the luncheon was Addie Progen, who is 98.
I asked her if she had lived in Acton all her life.
She quipped, “Not yet.”