Still going strong

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 16, 20 September 1983, Page 8

Still going strong

Eighty-five year old Joe Bergersen of Ohakune and his 32-year old Ford Prefect are a familiar sight around Ohakune as Joe motors sedately round the town doing his daily shopping and sometimes travelling to Raetihi to visit friends. Both are in excellent condition — Joe holds a current driving licence and drives without having to wear glasses. His sparkling blue car, which he has owned and maintained since he bought it second-hand in Wellington 30 years ago is a credit to him and the envy of many late-model car owners. Joe was born in Taihape in February 1898 of Norwegian parents who had come from Bergen in Norway to work in the '40mile bush' settlements of

Dannevirke and Norsewood. He was one of 13 children and is now the only surviving member of that generation though he has children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of his own. He served overseas with the New Zealand Army in the first World War. Joe has ljved in Ohakune for the past 17 years and, since his wife 'Fop'(Florej*K Muriel) died six years H he has been looking after himself in his Moore Street home. He neither smokes nor drinks nor does he gamble — apart from an occasional art union ticket — and . attributes these factors, together with his" keen interest in the world around him, to his longevity.