Mary Ann Halverson – contributed photo

Pearl Lucken, 99 years of age and a 73-year resident of Beaver, recently trekked to Marymere Falls near Lake Crescent, a distance of one and a quarter miles each way. Pearl took care to stop often so that her companions, Gene and Mary Ann Halverson, could rest. The plucky oldster is admired and loved as an authentic West End “character.” During the hike fellow travelers stopped to greet Pearl and to exclaim their surprise to see an elderly lady ascending the steep terrain. Pearl dispensed words of wisdom, hugs and laughter to passers-by who returned her greetings with equal fervor.