Walter Lillienfield '19

Dartmouth's oldest living alum on cigars, excercise and ketchup

"I DROVE MY OWN CAR TO HANOVER FROM ILLINOIS. I don't remember how long it took or what the roads were like. I do know my father's insurance wouldn't cover me before I turned 18. I'd sneaked his Peerless out a few times before that. I was good at driving in the snow. I drove fast. I got several tickets."

"I DIDN'T STUDY BUSINESS BECAUSE MY FAMILY HAD A BUSINESS. I don't recall what I did study. They had a lot of good movies in Hanover. I saw them all. I used the library as necessary."

"I WAS IN THE OUTING CLUB .Spent a lot of time waxing my skis. Cold? Hell, yes."

"I VOLUNTEERED FOR SKI JUMPING—my family thought I was crazy, as I'd never done it before. It was thrilling. I broke a ski once when it hit the ground at a bad angle, but I never hurt myself.

"IN COLLEGE I'D GO CANOEING ON THE CONNECTICUT RIVER. Maybe that's why I went into the Navy. They signed us up on campus."

"I SERVED AS A FIRST-CLASS QUARTERMASTER ON A SUBMARINE CHASER. My job was steering. It was very exciting. I don't remember catching anything."

"I DIDN'T FEEL BAD NOT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL AFTER THE NAVY. I WAS READY TO WORK. My father and grandfather were waiting for me in the cigar business. I never thought of doing anything else."

"WORKING IN A FAMILY BUSINESS IS HARDER THAN WORKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE. It's a lot to live up to."

"OUR COMPANY MADE CIGARS OF DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES, MOSTLY MODERATELY PRICED-FIVE AND 10 CENTS. We made Corinas, which were mildest, Idolitas and El Hijo Prodigos, which were strongest. Corinas were my favorites. I used to smoke six to eight a day. I never worried about it."

"PEOPLE SMOKE CIGARS FOR THE FLAVOR. It snot like inhaling cigarettes. It's all in the smoke, how it smells. Any kind of lighter is OK."

ROLLING A GOOD CIGAR is DIFFICULT. You have to have a good draw. We had plants in Ybor City, Florida, and up in Michigan. We had over 100 cigar makers. We instructed them very carefully.

"I TRAVELED TO CUBA A COUPLE OF TIMES A YEAR. The soil there has the best nutrients. The key was buying tuelta and partite tobacco, the strong and the mild. You need both."

"I USED TO ENJOY A BEER WITH A CIGAR, MAYBE BRANDY WITH ASTRONGER ONE AFTER DINNER. Now I drink orange juice and I don't smoke at all."

"I ALWAYS PLAYED THE PIANO. I learned on an upright, but later I had my own grand. I still play my favorite song, 'Just Like a Gipsy.' A friend of mine wrote it."

"KETCHUP TASTES GOOD ON ALMOST EVERYTHING."

"EXERCISE IS IMPORTANT. I always walked a lot. Now I flex my hands two to three hundred times a day."

"TO RAISE GOOD CHILDREN, BE SURE THEY HAVE A WONDERFUL MOTHER."

"TO HAVE A HAPPY MARRIAGE, PICK A GAL WHO'S SWEET AND GOOD LOOKING—and all the things my wife was."

"IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A JOB YOU LIKE AND PEOPLE YOU LOVE."

"I'VE HAD A FULL LIFE. I've been lucky: lucky to have good parents, lucky to have a wonderful family of my own,, lucky to have a good education."

"I DON'T HAVE MUCH ADVICEFOR ANYONE."

AGE: 105, born June 24, 1897 HOME: Casa Dorinda Retirement Community in Montecito, California; former residence was Highland Park, Illinois PERSONAL: Married in 1922 to Hortense Krolik (died 1990); sons Edward '45 (died 1963) and Robert (died 2003); brother-in-law Day Krolik II '33 (died 1978); nephew Day Krolik III '70 CAREER: Lilienfield Bros, and Joe Escalante & Cos., 1921- 1956, sold to General Cigar Co.in 1956; retired in 1968