For These ‘Three Dots,’ 100 Years Of Friendship, Fellowship And Fun

Dorothy Buchanan (from left), Dorothy Murray and Dorothy Kern, all 100, all of Auburn. (Rebecca Conley/Maine Public)

And now for a story about three Dots. Not an ellipsis or a new discovery in the solar system or a location on a map. No, this is a story about three women named Dorothy, all born in 1919, who grew up together in the same hometown, celebrated their 100th birthdays this year and who still remain friends.

Back in 1919, Dorothy was the third most popular girl’s name, and the chance of living to age 100 was 1.9 percent. So imagine the odds that former classmates and longtime friends Dot Buchanan, Dot Murray and Dot Kern would still be living in Auburn, Maine, and, 10 decades later, meeting for tea.

“Looks like we made it,” Kern says.

“We have so far,” Buchanan says.

“Don’t you think that we look as though we’re going to make it?” Murray says.

Sitting on the sofa in Buchanan’s living room, the three great-grandmothers squeeze hands. Their hair is thinner and it’s more difficult for them to get around, but they say they find comfort in their extended families, their faith and in their unusual connection, which brings them together to reminisce a couple of times a year.

“We all went through the Depression and no one had any more than the other,” Kern says.

Growing up during the late 1920s and early ’30s, Dot Murray says economic times were tough, but everyone made do.

Read the rest of the story at Maine Public’s website.