Clara Hopkins (Campbell) Hathaway

Born: February 5, 1907 Island Falls Maine
Died: December 6, 2010
Buried:

Some folks say for a happy life you should fill your soul with adventures, and I believe Clara might have been one of those individuals.

Born in Island Falls in 1907 she grew up living in the home where she was born. She graduated in 1923 from Island Falls High School and attended Posse-Nissen School of Physical Education in Massachusetts.

She was an avid life-long outdoors woman who loved to canoe, hike and climb the mountains of Maine and take winter hikes on snowshoes.

As a young woman her sense of adventure led her to travel cross-country with two friends in a borrowed automobile, camping in National Parks and farmer’s fields, their destination was the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles California. She enjoyed watching sports and was an avid follower of the Boston Celtics. But her interest also included the Arts traveling to Bangor and Boston to enjoy music concerts of the Boston Pops and Bangor Symphony.

After her sister’s death Clara raised her sister’s 2 children, and in 1937, she married their father Albion Foss Hathaway. Clara and Foss had 2 children. Foss worked for the Federal Prison Service. This lent to unusual living experience such as living on Alcatraz Island. They returned to Island Falls in 1941.

Clara played an active role in the life of Island Falls: She was a bookkeeper for the Water Company and a school lunch cook. She served as the librarian at the Katahdin Public Library, and she also boarded young teachers who taught in schools in the area.

At the age of 95 Clara made her first trip to Scotland for her granddaughter’s wedding. A proud moment for her occurred on her 98th birthday as she had her driver’s license renewed.

At the age of 103 according to her obituary “she went in a blizzard and that was just fine and dandy by her”.