Sam Arnett, 103, shares his memories of life and America’s history
The first Indianapolis 500 race took place in 1911 and like “the greatest spectacle in racing,” Westfield resident Sam Arnett continues to keep motoring – 103 years later.
“There’s no secret. You take it day by day. One day leads into the next and the next thing you know you have a whole pile of them,” he said.
Arnett was born Feb. 25, 1911 on the east side of Indianapolis on Parker Avenue.
“When I was a child, there were very few automobiles. Horses were still a popular item,” he said. His first automobile was a 1917 Reo touring car. “The airplane was quite a spectacle because there was very few of them. They really didn’t develop until World War I.”
After graduating from Indianapolis Public School No. 54, Arnett earned two college degrees – one in business from Butler University and a masters in pharmacy from Purdue University. Arnett, whose father owned a drugstore, worked for 34 years at Eli Lilly and Co. as a pharmaceutical chemist in the research laboratory.
“Penicillin was a big deal when I was very active,” he said. “There were new pharmaceuticals all the time, but penicillin was the standout.”
Retired in 1970, he moved to Florida for 20 years with his wife before returning to Indiana.
“I never did much traveling. What traveling I did do was inside the states or adjoining countries,” he said.
His hobbies are primarily sports (which he enjoys watching on TV) and he played varsity baseball at Butler. His daughter, Anne Ripley, said his love of baseball led to the start of little league on the east side of Indianapolis.
“He started the whole little league there when there was no field,” she said. “Because of him, hundreds of kids were able to play.”
Arnett has lived through some of the most significant times in America, including five major wars and 18 presidents, with his favorite being Franklin D. Roosevelt.
“After him, (Dwight D.) Eisenhower was very popular as was (Ronald) Reagan,” he said.
While he doesn’t remember the end of World War II very well, Arnett said there was “quite a celebration” when World War I concluded.
“People were going into the streets, ringing bells and blowing whistles,” he said.
Like many Americans, Arnett remembers watching the moon landing on television, “it was very popular,” and the news of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
“It was a surprise disaster in which everybody was involved,” he said.
To celebrate his 103rd birthday, Arnett had a surprise party where he resides at Wellbrooke of Westfield, with family, friends and well-wishers.
“It was a surprise, believe me. There were a lot of people I haven’t seen for a long time,” he said.
Ripley and Jessica Strausbaugh, activity director at Wellbrooke, planned the surprise event.
“He is one of our most caring residents. He’s always making sure everyone is OK. He’s the first to ask if you need anything or if he can get you anything,” Strausbaugh said. “He’s so caring about everyone else and not about himself.”
While enjoying birthday cake and reminiscing with baby photos, Wellbrooke staff expressed their admiration for the guest of honor, too. Kristen Welker, director of health and wellness, bragged about Arnett’s sense of humor and intelligence, and wasn’t surprised to see him open several gifts of candy and sweets, his special favorites.
“It’s not unusual to find him in the morning with chocolate,” she said.
“He’s so intelligent at his age,” Strausbaugh said. “You could ask him a math problem and he’ll answer with a smile and a smart aleck response to make you laugh.”
Strausbaugh said Arnett originally came to Wellbrooke for rehabilitation and has since made an example of perseverance and willpower.
“To see someone at 103 make the progress he made is remarkable for me,” she said. “He was not able to walk and now he is in assisted living (and walking on his own). It gives everybody a little bit of hope that you can come back from something.”
Arnett has two children, Anne, and her brother, David; five granddaughters; and 16 great-grandchildren.
“I’m fairly satisfied with my life,” he said.
1911 – Year in review
What was going on the year Sam Arnett was born?
• William Howard Taft was president.
• The population of the United States was 93,863,000 people.
• Federal spending was $690 million; unemployment was 6.7 percent; and the price of a first-class stamp was 2 cents.
• The first feature film was released when the two reels of D.W. Griffith’s “Enoch Arden” are screened together.
• The Philadelphia A’s defeated the New York Giants 4-2 in the World Series.
• Marie Curie of France won the Nobel Prize for her discovery of elements radium and polonium.
• World headlines of the year included: First use of aircraft as offensive weapon occurs in Turkish-Italian War; Chinese Republic proclaimed after revolution overthrows Manchu dynasty; Roald Amundsen become first man to reach South Pole; and British physicist Ernest Rutherford discovered the structure of an atom.
•U.S. news headlines included: Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York; 146 killed; and Supreme Court finds Standard Oil Company (May 15) and American Tobacco Company (May 29) to be in violation of Sherman Antitrust Act.
