Bertram Hodes was 101 years old when he decided to get his library card last year because he had already gone through the entirety of his own collection and needed some new reading material.
Since then, he’s been a regular visitor to the Jane and Sheppard branch and joined their seniors’ club as their senior-most member. He marked his 102nd birthday on Oct. 20 and at their weekly meeting on Friday, the club threw him a party to celebrate the momentous occasion.
“I like coming to this place, it’s a very nice place and I like the people who work here. Never once did they ever not let me in or throw me out,” said Hodes in a speech he prepared for the occasion, much to the amusement of his fellow club members.
A World War II veteran born in England in 1922, Hodes maintains a quick wit and a positive outlook.
When asked the secret to his longevity, he wryly answered, “Live longer.” A question about how it feels to be a 102 elicited a jump out of his seat to pose in a boxing stance.
Library staff and members say he’s a delight to be around.
“Bert is just hilarious and he’s a hoot. He always has jokes and stories and all the customers really love him,” said Jane/Sheppard branch head Vann-Ly Maleszka.
“Although Bert is the most senior in our seniors’ group, he is the youngest at heart,” added Senior Library Assistant of the branch, Doriana Onorati. “The very first time I met Bert I said to him ‘It’s an honour to have you here. And he said, ‘No, it’s my honour to be here.’ Everyone has just a great respect for him because he’s an inspiration to us all … and one thing he taught us is it’s never too late to get a library card.”
Maleszka says the idea for a seniors club was born out of the simple need for older members of the library to connect with each other.
“They often tell staff that they really don’t spend any time with people their age or they don’t have any friends. And so they’re yearning for that social connectedness, that human connection,” she said.
“They needed a place that was safe and welcoming. A place where they can socialize and be part of the community,” added Onorati. “And here at the library, they have become like a little family. So we are like a little library family that take care of each other.”
The Jane/Sheppard branch seniors club meets every Friday at 10:30 a.m.
“Usually it’s a senior social, but occasionally we’ll have an author visit or a special presentation. Last week we had a presentation on native plants and the seniors were able to plant their own seeds and then they get to bring back their project in the spring and they’ll see how well they’ve done,” said Onorati.
“November is ‘make a will month’ in Ontario, so we have a ‘make a will’ personal finance workshops that are free for seniors,” added Maleszka.
There is a similar seniors club at the library’s Yorkville branch and numerous other programs geared towards seniors are available at branches across the city.
“One of the huge pillars for us here at the Toronto Public Library is to have great programs for people of all ages,” said Maleszka.
Seniors programming includes book clubs, knitting clubs, chess clubs, seniors socials, painting workshops, crafting circles and computer classes among many others.
As for Hodes, he enjoys the simpler pleasures of checking out a book or two, particularly biographies. He’s currently working on Henry Winkler’s “Being Henry: The Fonz and Beyond.”
As a word of advice from lessons he’s learned over his lifetime, he says it is important to stay positive and have a good sense of humour and most importantly, to live and let live.
“Do the best you can and don’t have prejudice,” he said. “The world is much smaller than it used to be and people are good everywhere.”
