Charles Arnold Goddard has lived to be 100. Several dozen relatives, friends, neighbors and even business associates gathered at his Myrtle Avenue home Saturday to share the occasion. A group of fellow veterans was there to present him with a certificate for his Army captaincy, and Mayor Alfonso Ortiz handed him a certificate from the city.

Goddard was born in Denver and is the former owner of Southwestern Oil Company at Grand and Washington. The company supplied coal oil and gasoline. Goddard is widowed, his wife, Margaret, having passed away eight years ago. Mrs. Goddard had a long tenure as a teacher and principal with the Las Vegas City Schools.

Lynn Esquibel has been a caretaker for 36 years. She organized the centennial party, which included a buffet and music by Lorraine Varela, who led the guests in a round of “Las Mañanitas.”

Old-time friends such as Marie Montoya, Karen Pettine, Mary Edith Johnsen, John Moore, Bob and Sharon Vander Meer, Gilbert and Marcy Pino, Kathy and Fred Allen, Gloria Ortiz, Kathy, Allen and Steve Franken, Janet Remenyik, Alnita Baker and Chuck and Carol Searcy attended and gave their best hugs and wishes to the honoree.

Details on how many centenarians there are in the United States can be sketchy, with estimates running from 53,000 to 110,000. That puts our local centenarian in an exclusive class.
But before we ask for an invitation to his 101st birthday celebration, let’s consider the way the U.S. was when Goddard made his appearance in 1915:

  • There were only 1.8 billion people on the planet, with 100 million living in the U.S.
  • Warren G. Harding was the president and Henry Cabot Lodge the senate majority leader.
  • Because 1915 marked the first full year of World War I, fighter pilots constituted the bulk of the U.S.’ most prominent people, according to leading news magazines.
  • The most popular songs of that era were “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” by Alma Gluck; “It’s a Long Long Way to Tipperary,” by John McCormack; and “They Didn’t Believe Me,” by Harry McDonough.
  • Take-home pay was $687 a year, comparable to $16,063 in today’s dollars;
  • In 1915, a decent house would have cost $3,200, compared to $177,600 today.
  • A $2,005 auto (which would cost $46,879 with today’s inflated dollars), would require $3 to fill its 20-gallon tank.
  • Ford Motor Company that year manufactured its millionth car.
  • Only a couple of years before Charles was born, one could buy a Studebaker Model 25 Touring Car for $885.
  • A loaf of bread went for 7 cents; a dozen eggs 34 cents, a quart of milk 9 cents and a pound of steak 26 cents.
  • Clothing at the time was comparably a bigger investment in the year Goddard was born. Why? Because people of that era bundled up a lot more. Common outfits consisted of a vest, gloves, hat, overcoat, chemise, knickerbockers and petticoats.
  • In those days, a 15-cent movie ticket entitled patrons to watch flicks like “The Birth of a Nation,” “A Fool There Was,” “The Cheat” and “Martyrs of the Alamo.”
  • Some of the favorite expressions of 1915 were “Take no prisoners,” which today carries the same meaning; “Give someone the eye,” which still means to glare at or to give a dirty look to; and “babe,” as today, referred to an infant or an attractive young woman.

Goddard was featured in the Optic’s “Senior Profile” a year ago, on the event of his 99th birthday. My biggest surprise, when I joined writer Lupita Gonzales to interview the almost-centenarian was his ability to recall things so clearly. In the Senior Profile interview, he mentioned that a college education, which included room, board, tuition and books, set him back $400 a year. Today, some single textbooks cost $200.

Goddard’s company supplied fuel to many houses, including ours, on Railroad Avenue, less than two blocks away from his station. He remembered my father, J.D. Trujillo, as well as my oldest sister, Dolores, and my older brother, Severino, whom Goddard remembered as “Wow.” (Don’t tell my brother I’ve let his childhood nickname slip out.)

When I was in my early teens, Goddard hired me for a dollar to go around town distributing handbills that advertised his company. And, like my dad, Goddard conducted much of his downtown business on foot, delivering statements to customers and taking that opportunity just to visit a while with friends.

Saturday’s party produced many more memories. Judging by his apparent good health and his razor-sharp memory, he may well be instructing Lynn Esquibel to prepare invitations for his next birthday.

• • •

One of my passions is writing about language, and it pleases me when people respond.
Mack Crow sent in this item about how inexplicably, certain word combinations continue to make sense. Crow wrote:

“Why is English so much fun?” Then he inserted the following:

“All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life.

“Because that sentence makes perfect sense.”

• • •

We have a convert:

Sallie Bingham, a Santa Fe-based writer, responded to my recent column that lamented the dying practice of sending out thank-you notes. Earlier, I’d written about how a local bride printed several dozen generic, all-purpose notes for those who attended her wedding and/or reception.

The scroll-like notes were tied by a ribbon and placed, like a taquito, on everyone’s plate at the reception. So, regardless of what you presented the newlyweds, the thank-you notes were identical.

This is part of Sallie’s commentary on the more recent column:

“Thank you for your column on thank-you letters and the importance of protecting the English language — particularly poignant for me since my grandson who just visited with all the necessary treats won’t thank me, even by email. I think I’ll forward your column to him! Inspired me to renew my subscription to the Optic.”

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