Savvy Seniors: Meet Gert Wilken

Gert (Willson) Wilken, 86, resides at the assisted living in Clarksville. Born to a Shell Rock family, she has been a lifelong Butler County resident. She and her husband owned and operated Wilken Grocery on Main Street in Clarksville for many years. Later in life, Wilken worked at the Dumont Nursing home while her husband managed the Dumont grocery store.
     The oldest of six children, Wilken started school at the age of four. There was no kindergarten at the time. She lived on the other side of town, and would walk to school over the Shell Rock bridge. She remembered it was often particularly cold crossing the river in the winter.
     Every evening after supper all the neighbor children would play together, sometimes playing table games and other times playing outdoor games like “kick the can.” They didn’t have television, but they did have radio.
     Her dad did not have an automobile. Once a year they would borrow the pick-up from the Jamison Hardware store where he worked and drive to Garrison to visit family. Her little sister rode in the front with her parents, but she had to ride in the back to make sure her little brothers kept their backs against the cab of the truck.

 
Read more in the October 19 edition of the Tribune or the October 26 edition of the Star.