Celebration held at Newcastle Senior Center
Roy Dunning, 100, is officially the oldest senior citizen at the Newcastle Senior Citizen’s Center.
A celebration with birthday cake was held at the senior center in his honor on Monday, September 14.
Dunning’s grandparents settled on the South Canadian River in the Oklahoma Land Run. Dunning was born and raised in Newcastle.
Dunning said he had an identical twin brother and they would switch places when dating and switch seats in class. They got caught once when a test was given and the teacher asked him for the answer that “he” had written on “his” paper. Since his brother had taken his test, he answered it wrong. The brothers were busted.
Dunning graduated high school in 1944 and he attended college at the University of Oklahoma.
In 1948 he married Wilma Jean “Tootsie” Thomas. They have one daughter, Carol “Dunning” Grover. At that same time he began work on the “Dunning family land” with his father as dairy farmers.
Roy fondly calls Newcastle home and would tell you it is a good place to live. The biggest change he has seen while living here is all the recent houses and additions that have been built.
If you ask him how he has lived so long, Dunning would say “hard work” is the reason. His advice for others is, “Hang in there and don’t give up.”
‘Hang in there, don’t give up’
A spokesperson for the Senior Center said if you see Roy at the senior center, be sure and stop and talk to him about Newcastle’s history.
