Birthdays dot social calendar

Ninety-year-old June Patterson, seated, celebrates with daughters Susie Cavalear, left, and Sally McCarthy at Belmont. LISA DUTTON / BLADE Enlarge

From streetcars to airplanes and men on the moon, June Patterson has seen it all. Mrs. Patterson, 90, especially recalls how Toledo has changed.

"It used to be that you dressed up in hat and gloves to go shopping downtown, and made a day of it. You would see all of your friends . . . It was a social affair!"

You would walk all over downtown, she added, stopping at Lion Store, LaSalle's, Lamson's, Tiedtke's, the Spitzer Arcade, Grace Smith's Cafeteria, Eppes Essen restaurant, Zimmerman's, the Paramount, and other places. And paper boys would be shouting "Extra! Extra!" on street corners.

Now, the young-spirited Mrs. Patterson of Sylvania prefers to relax at the family summer home at Clark Lake, Mich., where she can go swimming. She was counting on swimming on her 90th birthday, but it was too cold.

A celebration took place at Belmont Country Club on Aug. 22, the day before her birthday, where some 45 guests sipped and supped in honor of Mrs. Patterson. Seen were her daughters, Susie Cavalear of Perrysburg and Sally McCarthy of Clark Lake, Mich., and grandchildren Shannon DeVilbiss Gallup and her husband, Bill, of Rossford, Jim DeVilbiss of Maumee, Mike McCarthy of Ann Arbor, and Matt McCarthy of Chicago. Daughters Peggy Patterson of Boca Raton, Fla., and Judy Patterson Smith of Breanham, Texas, sent best wishes. Her birthday present? A Caribbean cruise.

The birthday gal, dressed in red from head to toe, told family and friends that the key to health and longevity is moderation.

ON ANOTHER birthday note, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra celebrated the 40th birthdays of principal conductor Stefan Sanderling and resident conductor Chelsea Tipton.

Tom and Connie Schmidt hosted a soiree Aug. 3 for Mr. Sanderling at Toledo Country Club. The guest list of family and friends included Mr. Sanderling's wife, Isabelle; symphony board president Dick Anderson and his wife, Fran, and TSO league president Bev Zielinski and her husband, Herm. Posy Huebner, Tom and Susan Palmer, Rita Kern, John and Helen Williamson, and Dorothy Price were also among the guests.

On Aug. 26 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson hosted a party at the Anderson Activity Center; many of the guests had also attended the Sanderling soiree. Seen were Bill and Carol Block, Bill and Jean Buckley, Carolyn and Maynard Sauder, Serena and Tom Williams, and Mike Thaman and Lisa Gathard.