LAKEPORT — It isn”t every day that a centurion serves as trophy queen at the Lakeport Speedway.
Freda Moore is vibrant and sharp-as-a-tack at 106. She can walk without the aid of a cane, laughs and smiles often and keeps her mind in good shape by playing bridge on a regular basis. “I really just have a good time,” Moore said.
It was Moore”s bridge partner that got her the opportunity to be on the racetrack Sunday afternoon.
“I had contacted Dave (Furia) and I thought it would be a really good idea and I told him Freda would make a beautiful trophy queen because of her age,” Sue Bonera said. Bonera, 65, joins Moore each Monday at the Lakeport Senior Center for bridge games.
Dave Furia, the promoter for the Lakeport Speedway, said he had been getting community involvement at the track and thought having Moore as a trophy queen was a great idea.
“I heard there was a 106-year-old lady in Lake County so I got in contact with the lady that knew her and wanted to bring her out here,” Furia said.
Moore said she didn”t believe the opportunity to be a trophy queen was true. “I thought it was an April Fool”s Day thing,” she said.
Moore was surrounded by three generations of her family at the track on Sunday: her daughter, Mikki Nevin, 78, whom Moore resides with in Lakeport; granddaughter Carla Gallagher, 49, and great-granddaughter Ashley Enyart, 24, both of Kelseyville.
Moore said the whole day was enjoyable. “I thought it was a lot of fun for me,” she said. “I”ve never had an experience like this before. You”d think I was a celebrity.”
The speedway picked up Moore and her family in a limousine and drove them all out to meet the drivers when the trophies were presented. “We feel like we”re royalty today,” Gallagher said.
“It was thrilling,” Nevins said. “To have four generations and the feisty lady leading us was a good thing.”
Moore, who turned 106 on Oct. 2, grew up near Chicago. She lived for many years in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She moved to Lake County around 12 years ago because she “was too far away from my family.” At age 100, she joined the Lakeport Elks Lodge No. 2704. Moore said she loves living in Lake County. “I”ve lived in several states but I think this is the best,” she said. “I”m very happy here.”
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14.
