Belgum’s oldest citizen celebrates 109th

birthday with a vintage car ride and a beer (original) (raw)

Foto: Paul Van Landeghem

Denise Waelbers, the oldest person in Belgium, turned 109 on Thursday and celebrated with a ride in a vintage car through the streets of her home town. Her secret to a long life? “Basically, I do what I like to do, and drink a beer now and then.” Her birthday drive ended at a local bar.

Denise Waelbers was born in 1915, in the middle of the First World War. Although she lives in Mortsel now, she was born and raised in Kerkhoven, in Limburg. Later, she moved to Mortsel, in Antwerp province, where she met her American husband, Frank.

“I had a clothes shop, and suddenly a man walked in. He wanted to buy some trousers, but my main thought was, ‘He’s a nice man, he can come back’. So I deliberately gave him trousers that were too small. He soon came back, saying: ‘Is that a pair of trousers for an eight-year-old?’ I pretended to know nothing about it. Then we got talking and went to the café nearby.”

Basically, I do what I like to do, and drink a beer now and then

She still lives independently in a flat in Mortsel, with some help from her neighbour Monique Van den Broeck. “We have known each other for a long time,” Van den Broeck says. “When Denise fell and could no longer walk, I started taking care of her. Sometimes we can be angry with each other, but it doesn’t last more than five minutes. She always says what’s on her mind.”

Mayor Erik Broeckx presented Denise with a bouquet of flowers to mark the occasion.

Foto: Paul Van Landeghem