By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

PETERSBURG - Cathy Jo Eyer remembers her grandma once saying, "I'm not as old as dirt, but I'm older than plastic."

"I said that?" says Shirley Beigel. "I don't remember that."

It may be the only thing Shirley doesn't remember about the past century.

She's funny, energetic and remembers names, places and dates as if everything happened yesterday. The most significant of the dates is tomorrow, when she turns 100. At least it's significant to her family.

"I'm not doing anything about it. I'm just here," says Shirley. "If anyone wants to do anything, they can."

Shirley was born in Boone County Sept. 13, 1904 - James and Bettie Botts' third of four girls. That means Shirley is indeed older than Bakelite, the first entirely synthetic plastic, which was invented in 1907.

She was born in a home that her family built 150 years ago on their 71 acres of land on Botts Lane. The two-story house, made with poplar logs, still stands today and is owned by Dan and Pam Francis.

"She and Cathy pulled up the drive one day last year and just started telling us stories about the house and the whole area," said Pam Francis. "We've kept in contact ever since."

Shirley visited the house again last week. She last lived there in 1910 when she was 6 years old. The family moved to Bullittsville, then to Rising Sun, Ind. When asked if she remembered what year she moved to Indiana, she gave a good example of just how good her memory is.

"Well sure, it was Nov. 13, 1913," says Shirley.

She graduated from Rising Sun High School when she was 16. She taught there after graduation, then moved to Louisville to work in an office until 1927. That's when she moved to Cincinnati to work downtown at Fifth Third Bank in the safe deposit department.

She worked with a man named Clarence Beigel for two years before she married him on July 6, 1929.

"It was love at first sight," says Shirley.

The marriage lasted 67 years until Clarence's death in 1997. Their daughter, Virginia, is their only child. Shirley also has four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

She lives alone in Pleasant Ridge, Ohio, and maintains the home on her own just fine.

"She has a wonderful sense of humor and an optimistic attitude," said Cathy Jo. "I think that's what keeps her going."

Shirley used to play bridge every week, but said all of her bridge partners have passed away. She watches a lot of television and plays solitaire, two activities that keep her up past midnight each day.

"I don't have to get up in the morning for any reason, so why not?" she says.

She's seen a lot of changes over the last 100 years and says she appreciates many of the inventions that have come along - especially the microwave oven.

"For as much as I like food, you'd think I'd cook more," she says. "But I mostly microwave TV dinners."

Other than using a cane to help her walk, she is in perfect health. Part of her secret to longevity, she says, is that she's never smoked or drank.

"Well maybe a sip or two way back when," she admits. "But I just don't worry about anything. I think that's why I've lived so long."

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E-mail williamcroyle@yahoo.com