Metzger Celebrates 100th Birthday
By Nicholette Carlson
InkFreeNews
SILVER LAKE — When it comes to stories, Everett “Jimmy” Metzger has plenty to tell as he prepares to celebrate his 100th birthday on April 25.
One of these includes how he got the nickname “Jimmy.”
As a boy in about first or second grade, he kept picking on an eighth-grader. Finally, the eighth-grader told him to “stop jimmin’ around” and the nickname stuck.
Metzger attended Maple Grove School, which no longer exists. He attended the small two-room schoolhouse for six years before moving to Silver Lake. He then attended high school in Silver Lake, graduating in 1939. He played on the basketball team in 1938 and 1939. School is also where he met his wife.
His wife went to school with Metzger at Maple Grove, then moved away for a short time before returning to Silver Lake High School. He recalls one date where he picked her up in his 1936 Chevrolet and they went out to the lake. She passed away in 1994.
A lifelong farmer, Metzger admitted, “I never had a paycheck in my life.” He has lived on the same farm for 95 years, passed down from his grandfather to his father and then to him. Throughout his life he ran a grain separator on the farm for many years, but also did a little bit of everything in the farming business.
When he first started farming, they used horses and plows. Around the 1930s or 1940s, they switched to tractors. They had a little bit of everything, from horses to dairy cows to hogs and chickens. At one time Metzger’s father even built a huge chicken house with enough room for 1,000 laying hens.
After selling the dairy, he was able to get out and do some traveling, primarily to visit his children and grandchildren. The furthest west he’s been is San Diego, Calif., on a road trip with his son when his son moved there and again for a granddaughter’s wedding. The furthest east he’s been is Pennsylvania. He has also traveled to Texas and Florida.
Throughout his years, he believes the best technology he’s seen has been the television. The family used to listen to the radio at night before they got their first TV set. Now he enjoys “The Price is Right” and “Let’s Make A Deal.” At 4 p.m. the news comes on, followed by “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy.”
After that, it’s sports. Besides tennis or hockey, Metzger will watch pretty much any sport on TV. He does typically root for the Indianapolis Colts or Chicago Bears.
He is also a frequent attendee at the Lions Club REAL Services nutrition site in Silver Lake. Prior to the pandemic, he enjoyed playing a lot of euchre. His favorite meal at the nutrition site is the mashed potatoes with the turkey manhattan.
Working to stay busy and active, Metzger does try to do some exercising. He takes care of his yard and mows on his riding mower.
Even at almost 100, Metzger is still living independently with his cat, Snoopy. “I think what helped me was three meals a day and getting plenty of rest,” he stated. He also credits good genes and growing up on the farm to his long lifespan.
REAL Services will be holding a birthday party for Metzger Friday, April 23, at the nutrition site.