By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Nothing can beat first-hand experience.
Students at Ellis Elementary School in Niles marked the 100th day of school with a bit of a celebration by doing all sorts of things with the number 100.
In Peg Meyers' first-grade class, students had a special visitor to help them celebrate the event. One of Meyers' students, Toby Weldy, brought in his 100-year-old great-grandmother to class Tuesday.
Inez Hullinger recently celebrated her 100th birthday and was more than delighted to talk to her great-grandson's classmates about the things she has experienced during her 100 years of life.
Students asked Hullinger questions about what her life was like when she was their age and about the things she has seen change in the world during her lifetime.
Specifically, the Ellis Elementary students wanted to know what school was like for her.
She described how she and her brother would ride their pony to the one-room schoolhouse they attended, which was about a mile from their home.
Students also asked what kind of shows she used to watch on TV. They seemed surprised to learn the television had not been invented when she was younger.
Students also wondered what she did for fun when she was a youngster, asking her if her generation had video games, comic books and other things that kids of today enjoy.
Hullinger also told students about how her father, who had a 320-acre peppermint farm, was the first one in the area to get a car.
When asked why she thinks she has lived as long as she has, Hullinger said, "I have been content in my life, had many friends and had love in my life. That's what has kept me going for so long."
She added, "One of the best things in my life are all the friends that I have had and still have, and also the fact that a lot of young people come over and visit me."