Imagine what it was like to begin your life in the 1920s and experience all those years since. Clara Wall of Muncy doesn’t have to imagine. She was here.

Clara Helen Schmatz was born in 1922 in Bluefield, West Virginia. Her early years were spent there and in Bogalusa, Louisiana. She graduated from high school and business school for secretarial training. She recalls living in Bogalusa after the Great Depression and her family not having much money. “But, we had a strong community and a nice high school. The town was owned by Gaylord Boxing Corporation, and I worked for them when I graduated,” Clara said.

Lauren Boshinski, of Brooklyn, N.Y., Kathryn’s daughter, helped share Clara’s history and responses in an interview with The Luminary.

Clara married Jack Wall in California in 1943, and two months later, he was sent overseas to serve in World War II. She then moved to Peoria, Illinois to live with his parents, and worked for Caterpillar during the War.

“I remember when they bombed Pearl Harbor,” Clara said. “The wives of the servicemen waiting for their husbands to come home formed ‘the Round-Robin group.’ We were a close-knit group. We all worked for Caterpillar.”

Clara worked night shifts and was then promoted to Secretary of Transportation.

“And I remember the excitement of VE-DAY, when the war was over,” Clara said.

The Round-Robins corresponded for many years, and Clara wrote back and forth to one friend who lived in Chicago until a few years ago when she passed away. Clara is the only living member of this Caterpillar, Peoria, Round-Robin group formed during WWII. Her granddaughter, Lauren, shares that Clara has always been known as an avid pen-pal and friend who kept up with everyone.

After Jack’s return, they remained in Peoria, and in 1947, began a family with the first of their eight children, Kathryn. They moved to Muncy in 1955, and into the beloved Main Street house in 1957.

“The house was built in 1922, so the family feels it was destined to be Clara’s home,” Lauren said.

Clara and Jack continued adding to their family after moving to Muncy. Their eight children are Kathryn, Steven, Richard, Andrew, Mary, Nancy, Susan and Jeff. Clara is now the grandmother of 17, and has 11 great-grandchildren.

“Larry Grieco taught all of my kids — and she remembers them as good students. Their interests varied from sports to entrepreneurial ambitions, crafting and music — and the whole family, including children, grand and great-grandchildren share these traits and interests,” Clara said.

Whenever family is together, they compose and sing songs for Grandma Clara and each other.

Lauren offered other details of her grandmother’s life.

“Clara was always deeply involved in the Muncy community. She volunteered for 37 years at Muncy Valley Hospital, and for 25 years created wreaths for the Muncy Library. A few times, she won first place in the garden club displays. She was known as a generous soul and once gave away her first computer to a young wheelchair-bound woman. Her gestures never surprised us. This was Clara through and through,” Lauren said.

“She recalls that ‘her eight kids put on nightly plays in the living room. TV was just getting started, but they all liked to entertain.’ Clara hosted foreign exchange students from New Zealand and Bolivia and international guests from Japan. She opened her house to countless folks, especially her grandchildren, inviting them to live with her in the summer and involving them in activities all over the region from sports to horse racing and long days at the Muncy Pool. She was known for her flowers and door decorations, was an active member of the Church of the Resurrection, and most importantly served as a guiding light for her children. Clara has a lifelong passion for her flower and vegetable garden. Her neighbors help take care of it these days so she can continue to enjoy fresh homegrown vegetables.”

This is a life to be celebrated. And indeed it was on Halloween weekend this year. On this birthday, Oct. 31, 2022, Clara turned 100 years old.

“There were 70 of us who came to her house for the weekend with our partners, boyfriends/girlfriends, along with her extended community. It’s so fun to gather on Halloween because we can enjoy the festivities. Kids can trick-or-treat, and Clara can wear her signature witch hat or crown. Her children, grandchildren, great-grandkids and partners and friends have come from all over the U.S. to make this celebration possible. We call the celebration WAGBOG, meaning ‘we are great because of Grandma!’ It’s a raucous time to reunite around — and for — the person who made all our lives possible. We love her so much. And Clara and her family want to extend endless love and thanks to the town of Muncy, and her friends, and neighbors like Dan & Janet, Barb & Hugh Lovell, Deb Boatman, Ed & Margaqret Hannann, Larry and Tess Grieco, Sally & Anne Bruch, Carol Stine, Nan Rusick, Susanna Falck, Ron & Faith Clark, and the Butchko family for their care and company — you are all, without a doubt, our family, too!”

Clara still loves spending as much time as she can visiting with family and friends, and is, her granddaughter notes, “as sharp as a tack, sharing stories and talking about current events. And she still loves Muncy!”