100 years of memories
Whitman celebrates his 100th birthday in Westminster
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

On Monday, Sue Fisher, the director of the Westminster Council on Aging, and Walter Taylor, a member of the COA, present William Whitman a citation from the state House of Representatives on his 100th Birthday. JOURNAL PHOTO/CAITLYN KELLEHER

His character's name was Hiram Hitchpush when he starred in test televisions shows for the Philco company, but never saw star power in the limited-release shows.

William Whitman, who spent a number of years working for the radio and television company, celebrated his 100th birthday on Monday, March 17, in Westminster.

"They just grabbed people off of the production line to act," said Whitman.

These "television shows" were never aired beyond the test studios and test televisions, and Whitman is not upset that these 30-minute sketches represent his entire acting career. The 100-year-old says he's in relatively good health, but he does have to wear two hearing aids and suffers from macular degeneration. He never thought about whether he would live to 100 years old.

"I don't know if I have a secret to keep in good health," Whitman said.

Old family photos illustrate Whitman's different points and different people through his life. JOURNAL PHOTO/CAITLYN KELLEHER

Whitman lives with his daughter Sue Waers and his grandson William Key.

He moved to Westminster in 2003 to live with his family. He grew up in what was a rural part of Philadelphia in 1908 in the area near the Walnut Lane Bridge, which is located in Northwest Philadelphia that connects the Germantown and Roxborough neighborhoods in Fairmount Park.

"It seemed like everything grew up around it," Whitman said of the bridge that was built the same year he was born.

Throughout his life Whitman has lived around the country, and has visited each of the 50 states. The last state he had to visit was Hawaii, which he visited with his family in 2003, before that he had taken a cruise to Alaska for his 90th birthday.

"I just enjoy traveling," Whitman said.

One of the most memorable trips was the time he spent in London after World War II when he went to help rebuild one of Philco's plants. He said the English government had taken all but about 20 percent of the factory to manufacture supplies for the war effort. His then-young daughter, Waers, and his wife, Sally, could not travel with him because of a lack food, he said.

"I couldn't even buy a handkerchief when I was over there for nine months," said Whitman.

Whitman said he was lucky because he found safe and comfortable housing in a room above an English pub.

During the war, Whitman had worked to oversee one of Philco's factories in Chicago, which served as an ammunition plant. Also during that time he served as deputy sheriff.

Waers and her father have been working to put his life on paper.

"She came up with this idea months ago," Whitman said.

Waers said she has enjoyed not only spending the time with her father but doing the research about the different memories her father has and their place in history. She said she was surprised when her father remembered the aspects of the sinking of the Titanic, such as the death of local Philadelphia resident. She has also learned about the Spanish Flu, or the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, which killed Whitman's cousin.

"Most of the history is already there," Waers said. "I'm just weaving his history into it."

She has also plugged in the family's genealogy, which Whitman had researched earlier in his life. She said one of the most interesting things was that her grandfather had weaved material for the United States uniforms in World War I, Whitman added that the weaver took up most of the main room of the very small house.

Whitman also remembers the stock market crash of 1929, because as a 21-year-old he was working as a carpenter.

"We all knew something had happened," he said. "Everything was shutting down … All the jobs just went up in smoke."