Four fixtures of Perry society celebrated their birthdays Friday with a party at the Perry Perk coffeehouse, and a large group of friends and family toasted the merrymakers with cake, coffee and comradeship.
Taking precedence by virtue of seniority was 90-year-old Charlie Thompson, long retired from a career of truck driving and now a popular Perry bon vivant. Charlie was joined in the celebrations by his wife, Edith Thompson, son, Mike Thompson, and daughter, Teresa Thompson Bailey.
Sharing the day’s Libran libations were longtime Perry Middle School Art Teacher Caroline Guay, marking the 77th anniversary of her birth, longtime attorney and Perry promoter Dan Spellman, turning 76 this year, and Perry impresario founding light of the Art on the Prairie festival, now in its 10th year, Jenny Eklund, looking not a day over 39.