Sandusky native turns 100

SANDUSKY — 1941 was the year America entered World War II and was also when a local woman graduated from Sandusky High School. That woman, Sandusky native Peggy (Schaufelberger) Scherer, is one of the last members of her graduating class and celebrated her 100th birthday on Thursday. She grew up in the area with her mother, Lenore; father, Hugo Sr.; and brother, Hugo Jr. She kept her roots close to home and raised her three children in the area: Gregg, Leah and Linda. She is one of the three remaining alumni from Sandusky High School's class of 1941. The group lost one of its last members earlier this year, Edward Bailey. Scherer spoke highly of him, making notes on his smarts and how much fun they would have together. "He was very important at that time," she said, referencing his connection to the Manhattan Project, the U.S. effort to build an atomic bomb. "He was a lot of fun, nice guy, very smart." She still tries to keep in touch with her other classmates, Virginia (Hitchcock) Pollack and Gloria (Bluhm) Helfrich, and has been able to do so throughout the years through a simple phone call and letter writing. After graduating from Sandusky High School, Peggy went on to be an engineer at the Sandusky Foundry where she was the only woman within the department. She gained her interest in engineering through her father. "From the time I was a little kid I always had a drawing board next to where my dad was working," Peggy said. "I would learn about stuff at the drawing board and I knew how to make plans." During World War II, her work as an engineer led to her involvement in a few highly secretive projects. One of these included fixing a ship that had been involved in the Pearl Harbor attack. The foundry is also where she went on to meet her husband and former Sandusky High School football star, John Scherer. He was also an alumnus but from the 1927 graduating class. The couple would be assigned to the same projects at work and became even closer while walking back and forth to work together. "He knew my mother and dad real well, especially my dad, and we got acquainted and we didn't live too far apart," Peggy said. "We walked back and forth from work together and all of a sudden we started dating and ended up getting married. It worked out real well." She said her husband was a very handsome man and that offered a piece of advice for younger people. "If you see a good-looking guy, don't let him go," she said. The couple went on adventures together throughout their 65 years of marriage before his passing. One of their last trips included Alaska, which she described as a beautiful place with interesting food. Peggy's daughter, Linda Scherer, said her mother has lived a very active and fulfilling life. "I think by looking at all the things my mother has done in her life, like these trips and the volunteering and things like that, you could say she lives by a 'don't put it off' rule," Linda said. "She was always involved with us kids too. Every activity, she was there." Along with staying busy through travel and her kids, she also spent time giving back. That included her services as a United Service Organization hostess to asking her loved ones to give donations to Back to the Wild, a wildlife rescue service in Erie County, rather than birthday presents. She is also always jumping on the opportunity to stay busy. However, her days have calmed down now. They consist of waking up, eating breakfast, running errands and then trying to make it back for the Guardians game. Her phone has been constantly ringing the past few days along with numerous visitors dropping off gifts to celebrate her birthday. She plans on spending her birthday and the few days after it surrounded by loved ones. Her family has several days of events planned to celebrate, including a pizza party, trip to Olive Garden and visit to Jordan's Country Cafe.