Helen Caylor turns 100 years young on Easter Sunday

April 6, 2012

Helen Caylor proudly displays a quilt made from flowered feed sacks, which was donated to Grace Giggler’s Relay for Life team. Mrs. Caylor has a lot to be excited about, as she turns 100 on Easter Sunday. (Photo submitted)

PUNXSUTAWNEY — Helen Caylor has seen a lot in her life, such as the Great Depression, the invention of the TV and the Internet, the assassination of JFK, and many other events. And Easter Sunday, April 8, she will turn 100 years old.

Mrs. Caylor was raised in Grange and is a 1931 graduate of Punxsutawney High School.

She still enjoys many hobbies, such as reading, crocheting, cooking, baking, tatting and knitting, but she is most known for her favorite hobby: Quilting. She was taught by her grandmother when she was in grade school.

“My grandmother used to say, ‘You might as well make yourself useful; you got to learn how to do these things,’” she said.

Mrs. Caylor’s quilts are different from the average quilt, as she uses flowered feed sacks from the 1930s and 1940s.

“You couldn’t buy other material; you had to use feed bags, or you didn’t make any, because at that time, they didn’t sell material in the stores,” she said.

Mrs. Caylor used to work with her husband Claude on their 28-acre farm in Punxsutawney, and at one point had 2,000 chickens. Over the years, she gathered a lot of feed sacks, so she has plenty of material for the quilts.

About 10 years ago, Mrs. Caylor began donating the quilts to Relay for Life. This year, she donated her quilt to Grace Giggler’s Relay for Life team.

When she wasn’t working on the farm or taking care of her three kids — Kathy Hess, Louise Reefer and Myron Caylor — Mrs. Caylor worked at the G.C. Murphy Company, which was formerly located in downtown Punxsy.
Today, she also has 10 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, two step-great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Caylor was once president of the Jefferson County Homemakers and a member of the Dutchtown Homemakers, the Punxsutawney Homemakers and the Christian Women’s Club. She currently the First United Methodist Church.
Her family is hosting a birthday and Easter celebration Sunday at the Golden Eagle Inn in Brookville.

When asked if she was excited for the party, Mrs. Caylor replied, “Oh, yeah!”