Brown County (Indiana) Democrat, February 18, 1926, p. 1. NOTE: The item
below was abbreviated from the original as noted by the ellipsis.
NINETY YEARS A TOBACCO GROWER
Valentine Penrose Celebrates His 99th Birthday-Hale and Hearty
On last Sunday, Valentine Penrose of Van Buren Township celebrated his 99th
birthday. He said that he began working in his father's tobacco patch when
he was nine years old. Last summer the only assistance he had in raising a
crop of 500 pounds of long green was in the preparation of the ground and
putting out the plants. He did not want any help. Mr. Penrose prefers to
care for his plants himself because, after 90 years at the job, he feels
that he knows just how it should be done.
On Valentine's day he said he believed he had earned the right to retire
from the business but was not very positive in his conviction that he was
going to do so. He walked a half mile on his 99th birthday as is his daily
custom and seems as hale and hearty as ever.