By Albert Amateau
Edith Matella (seated) celebrated her 102nd birthday on March 6, with a gift of cannoli from her friend Lucy Cerere (standing). Edith, born on MacDougal St. in 1907, has been a resident of Village Nursing Home, at Hudson and W. 12th Sts., for the past four years, and had lived on her own, with the help of a home attendant, until then. “She was one of the first members of the Caring Community in 1974, and went every day to the senior center at Our Lady of Pompei,” said Cecere, a board member of both Village Nursing Home and Caring Community. “She lived by herself on Charles St. and loved to go on day trips to Atlantic City,” Cecere said. “I swam and did a lot of gambling,” Edith told a visitor on her birthday. She became blind two years ago, “but she still loves cannoli,” Cecere said.
