Huntington's Oldest Resident Celebrates 108th Birthday

HUNTINGTON, NY—Not even a pandemic could stop Rosalie Zona from celebrating her birthday Sunday afternoon in Huntington. The "Queen of Huntington," as she's affectionately called, recently turned 108-years-old.

If you do the math, that means Zona was born in 1912. In her lifetime, she has obviously seen and experienced quite a bit. In the year she was born, the average income was just $1,033. A gallon of gas was 7 cents, a quart of milk cost 9 cents, a medium-priced home cost $2,750 and a quart of milk cost 9 cents.

In 1912, the Titantic also sank, Woodrow Wilson was elected president, New Mexico was admitted as the 47th state and Arizona as the 48th state, Nabisco developed the Oreo cookie, and the Republic of China was founded. Over the course of her lifetime, Zona has seen plenty of history unfold before her eyes.

To celebrate her huge milestone, the community held a drive-by parade in her honor. Wearing a face mask and sitting in her wheelchair outside of her Huntington Station home, Zona proudly waved to neighbors as they passed by in their vehicles to wish her a happy birthday.

Zona's son, John Havlicek, told Newsday that his mother was raised in Manhattan and a village outside Milan, Italy. She worked worked as a model and later a fashion consultant for the now-defunct B. Altman and Co. on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

According to the newspaper, Zona is the town's longest-living resident, but she is not the only one to make it to 108. Town Clerk Andrew P. Raia said his great-aunt, Julia Morrell, also lived to 108 and died in 2011.