Providence, R.I., Apr 13, 2016 / 16:21 pm
As part of his birthday celebration April 1, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, R.I., had the privilege of meeting and sharing a birthday celebration with a very special woman, Claire Sharpe, who turned 106 that day.
Sharpe is a member of the first graduating class of St. Paul School, Cranston, a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, and is the oldest resident of East Greenwich, R.I.
She remembers growing up in Rhode Island in the early 1900s. In those days, her family did not have indoor plumbing - the children took baths in a galvanized tub in the kitchen, and often before going to bed, she would heat a brick to keep her warm, wearing her coat as she slept. Sharpe recalls not having electric heating until she was 19.
"We were very poor," she said. "We didn't have a cent. But, I learned that pennies don't count, human beings count. We didn't have much, but look what God has brought me today."