Danke schön, Katie Logemann
STOCKTON - Katie Logemann is a living testimony to hard work.
As a young woman in Germany during the 1920s, she had a reputation for industriousness.
As a new wife in northeast Nebraska, she worked alongside her husband to make ends meet during the Depression.
And for 40 years after that, Katie helped till the Delta soil along Highway 4 - building a successful farming operation and creating a renowned rose garden.
"Mom loved the land," said her 72-year-old son, Richard. "She'd rather work in the dirt than go to town."
What might have been backbreaking to some proved profitable to Katie, who turned 104 last week with only a few signs that she is slowing down.
On her last day as a 103 year old, she was sitting with her daughter and a friend engaged in animated conversation. Her morning exercise class had just ended. Katie was dominating the talk. On her birthday, she sang, clapped her hands and got a little embarrassed at all the attention.
Tours of her garden in Portland's Garthwick neighborhood always drew crowds, fans flocked to see her at shows, her column in the newspaper's Homes & Gardens of the Northwest was often cited as the favorite part of the section.