Anna Lutz turns 108

Country Meadows of South Hills is celebrating resident Anna Dzurichko Lutz’s 108th birthday!

Born on March 17, 1916, in Farrell, PA, Anna has lived much of her life in the greater Pittsburgh area – South Side, Crafton and Eighty Four. She grew up in a large family on a 10-acre farm with cows, chickens and a horse in Peters Township. Her family also owned a clothing store.

Anna married and was blessed with her own family, including son George, a daughter Sharon, seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She retired from Kaufman’s Department Store Bakery.
Anna shared some of her favorite pieces of advice for young people:

“Learn as much as you can about people and the world.”

Over her long, rich life, Anna had the opportunity to travel. She attended the World’s Fair in Montreal and has been to Oklahoma, Baton Rouge, St. Anne in Quebec, New England, Michigan, Ohio and other areas on the East Coast.

“Do the right thing and pray to God every evening. Ask for great health, family, a nice vacation, if you want children…Drink whiskey at bedtime is the second thing.”

God, whiskey and family feature prominently in Anna’s stories. In her younger days, Anna’s family made moonshine during Prohibition. She shares that the way to know if whiskey is any good is to take a bit and try to light it. If it takes too long to light up, it isn’t good. “Good whiskey lights up 1-2-3,” she says knowingly.

She recalls following the railroad tracks in the South Side of Pittsburgh from 18th Street to 6th and Carson delivering the moonshine with her brother. They sang songs to cover up the clanking of the bottles. When asked what song they sang, she replies laughing, “Probably God Bless America!”

These days, Anna especially loves polka music. She happily breaks into the Beer Barrel Polka, “Roll out the barrel, we’ll have a barrel of fun…”

Since coming to Country Meadows of South Hills almost eight years ago, Anna has been an active resident. Anna is one of the top bowlers, and she enjoys a game of cornhole, too. You can also find her participating in other community activities such as darts, golf, badminton, Nerf target practice and card games. But her favorite game is “BINGO!” She says three times a week isn’t often enough. For her birthday celebration, she will be able to play it all day long.

Anna offers one more piece of advice to living a long and happy life:

“Do the best you can, and if people need help, try to help.”

Happy Birthday, Anna, and many, many more!