At 100, man continues to record his life

Most people wonder what their legacy will be. One Whitefish man has been able to watch his mark on the world grow through five generations.

Eugene Hermes was born during the tail-end and aftermath of World War 1 in 1917. It was the same year Al Capone became “scarface,” Albert Einstein published his first paper on cosmology and Harry Houdini nearly died in his first attempt of being buried alive.

On a recent morning, Hermes pushed aside his smartphone and tablet to reflect on his century of life.

“I had over 100 relatives at my birthday, that’s brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Hermes said.

“There were more than 140,” his daughter Barb Todhunter said. “They came from all over: Kansas, Texas, California and even Brazil.”

Todhunter said she’s watched her father live multiple lives as he’s adapted to changing times: “just imagine all he’s seen and been through.”

When documents moved online, Hermes bought a computer. When his hearing began to fail, he learned how to text. As his body has slowed, he’s begun to write about where his legs had carried him.

“I just wanted to put the information somewhere,” he said.

Though Hermes said his writings are not directions to future generations, they convey what it means to work hard.

Born into a German family in Kansas, Hermes didn’t learn English until his first year of school. He was seven. On his way to school, he tracked animals and sold their pelts to buy Christmas presents.

“Once, I arrived smelling like a skunk,” he said with a laugh.

Partway through the school year, despite his learning curve in picking up English and the side job as a tracker, Hermes was so ahead of the class his teacher moved him into second grade early.

By 10, he was driving trucks on farms. He was too short to see over the steering wheel, but just the right height to peer under the wheel’s rim to steer.

HERMES GRADUATED high school at 16 years old. Soon after, he met his future bride at a rollerskating rink.

For years, the couple operated their own farm in Kansas, where Hermes said his family name is still recognizable.

“Though, I’ve outlived most of the people there,” he added.

A dream to move out west pulled he and his wife out of the comfort of their hometown and to the mountains of Colorado.

“Young people those days wanted to go west, it was a new frontier,” he said.

He exchanged the trade of raising vegetables for tending to cattle.

His time as a rancher was cut short by a drought, so he tried his hand at carpentry. When work was hard to come by, the Hermes family decided it was time to move again.

“I wanted to go further,” he said.

So, he and his wife moved to Montana, where he continued to work as a carpenter.

His hands have helped piece together shopping centers in Kalispell and homes scattered throughout Whitefish, where he now lives at Genesis Healthcare.

His legs haven’t hit the floor in three years. He’s lived at Genesis for five years. But the images of the life he’s lived so far keeps him company, along with his nightly visits from his daughter.

Hermes said he’s written six pages of his memories so far. He said he wasn’t sure how many more are to follow.

Though his memoir may not find a place within bound pages, family members like his daughter have memorized the details of Hermes’ life — from his early success in school, “You know, dad did two years in one during his first year of school” — to his renewed craft of violin-making after his wife’s death.

“He started his first violin when he was 14 and finished it in 1993 after Mom died,” Todhunter said.

Todhunter said from her father’s seven children, he has 107 descendants. So the stories of his life will continue to unfold for generations to come.

“He’s taught me to always continue to learn,” she said.

She said while it’s a simple concept, it’s vital to living well at any age.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.