Crosswords, pool and walking keep 94-year-old woman young

Kathryn Daniel enjoys the six block walk to the Lunch Box for coffee, a newspaper and to sit down and enjoy her favorite hobby crossword puzzles.

The 94-year-old has walked to the Lunch Box from her residence at the Parkview Apartments nearly every morning by 8:30 since it opened in 1983.

She then sits down at one of the restaurant booths and orders a coffee before working on a crossword puzzle.

Every morning, Kathryn tries to solve the crossword puzzles that are in the Havre Daily News and the Great Falls Tribune.

It normally takes her an hour to finish a puzzle.

"It's pretty time consuming, that's why it's a pastime," Kathryn said.

She mainly enjoys working on crossword puzzles because it attracts her interest of learning.

"I get them pretty much," Kathryn said. "I don't even use a dictionary anymore, but sometimes they can be quite puzzling."

Kathryn started doing crossword puzzles when she first started coming in 1983 to the Lunch Box, located at 213 Third Ave.

Although solving crossword puzzles is her favorite hobby, she also enjoys walking to the Lunch Box and to the North Central Senior Center.

At 10:30, Kathryn normally walks five blocks from the Lunch Box to the center for lunch before she walks 11 blocks back to her apartment.

"I think it's exercise and I'm an outdoor person," Kathryn said. "It's circulation, muscles and everything."

Although Kathryn is a walker, she isn't a stranger to commuting.

She used to commute six miles round trip by train from her home in South Range, Michigan to her high school in the upper peninsula of the state.

Kathryn moved to Havre from the Tri-Cities of Washington state in 1964 and has enjoyed staying in Havre because the people are friendly and she can get around easily, unlike a large city.

Kathryn also enjoys playing pool at the Senior Citizens Center every time she's there. She plays in a pool tournament at the center on Tuesday nights.

"I don't know what I would do without the Senior Center," Kathryn said.

Besides the games of pool, she also enjoys the good cooking at the Seniors Center and visiting with other retirees.

"It's my second home," Kathryn added.