Eat oatmeal, marry well and live to 100

By TRACY KIEL
Mille Lacs County Times
Posted 7/9/03

The thought of turning 100 years old produces a variety of feelings and reactions in different people. Dick Baas welcomes the event with optimism and a sense of humor.

³Itıs better than a funeral,² he said with a smile.

Baas will turn 100 on July 15, and friends and family from all over the country will be coming to celebrate with him. He will also have a birthday party at the Milaca Elim home at 2 p.m. on July 13, which is open to the public.

Baas said that he feels fine and doesn't have any aches or pains.

³My eyes are good; my ears are good,² he said. Baas believes a variety of things have contributed to his long, healthy life. These include no smoking, eating oatmeal for breakfast every day, marrying a good wife, and doing plenty of fishing.

He also has some advice for people who want to reach 100. Get plenty of exercise, and don't smoke, he said.

Much of Baası history can be found in a book entitled What I Remember, written by his daughter Sylvia and her husband Richard.

He was born in 1903. When he was eight, he and his family moved to a farm about a mile south of Pease. In December of 1923, he moved to Chicago and attended a 10-week course at an electrician school, where he also learned about engines. Over the next six years, Baas moved back and forth from Chicago to the Pease area several times, working as a mechanic in various garages. He also did various farm and electrical work. In 1925, while visiting a sick friend in a Chicago hospital, Baas met a nurse, Hermina Dykstra. He fell in love with her instantly and knew he would marry her some day.

In 1930 he moved back to the Pease area permanently. He purchased the Pease Garage from Gerrit Bouma with some difficulty. He had first purchased the tools, tires, and parts and, then, sent for his savings in Chicago to buy the garage itself. He had been saving money for years, but when he sent for his savings from the Illinois Home Finance, he found that the company had gone broke. He managed to borrow the money from Princeton State Bank and purchased the garage, which he owned and operated for about 50 years. On April 2, 1931, he married Dykstra. The couple had three children- Kathy, Sylvia, and Owen. Over the years, Baas served on the church council, the school board, and the Pease council.

Also, he and Jake Pluimer built the Pease windmill on Highway 169. Pease needed a windmill to honor its Dutch heritage, Baas said. When 169 became a four-lane highway, the windmill was moved into Pease, where it still stands today.

Although Baas worked hard during his life, he made time for the things he enjoyed. He and his family frequently traveled throughout the country.

³Weıve been to most of the states,² he said. One of the reasons why Baas finally moved to Minnesota permanently relates to the country life he cherished. ³I wanted to fish and hunt, you see,² he said. He loved to hunt geese, pheasants, and ducks. Laurence Kiel, his second cousin, remembers a sign on the Baas Garage door one fall day that read, ³Closed, gone hunting.²

Baas also loved to fish, often going over 50 times a year. He fished crappies, sunnys, northerns, and walleyes. He caught his biggest fish when he was around 30, a 30-pound Northern.

Although he didn't fish in all 10,000 lakes in Minnesota, he has fished in quite a few of them, he said, as well as lakes in Canada. His wife also likes to fish, and he took her along whenever she wanted to go.

Baas kept a fishing and hunting record of everything he caught and shot and who went with him, filling up six books over his lifetime. The days he fished donıt count toward the total years of his life, he said. For example, if the days he fished added up to 10 years, this would take ten years off from his age.

³He has a very optimistic attitude on life and has helped a lot of people,² Kiel said. Baas wouldnıt hesitate to take people fishing. Also, before he moved into the Elim home, he would visit some of the residents there every Sunday.

When he did move to Elim about three years ago, it was hard to adjust at first, he said. However, he still keeps busy.

³He's always willing to help you do something,² said Ila Judd, a Therapeutic Recreation Activities assistant. Baas often helps fold towels and frequently visits other residents at Elim, including his 95-year-old sister, Ann Kromminga.

³Heıs always going in and out,² Kromminga said. ³He's so busy.²

³He has a positive attitude,² said Pauline Pap, a Therapeutic Recreation Activities assistant. ³He always has a smile on his face.²

In spite of all the compliments, Baas simply said that he has had a good life and that the Lord has been good to him.

³I donıt want to brag,² he said.