TOLEDO, Ohio — Surrounded by family and friends, with lots of good food and singing, a Toledo woman celebrated her 100th birthday, German-style on Saturday.
Regina Nowak was born in Germany in 1922 and was part of a family of 6.
She immigrated to the Toledo area in 1952. She came to Toledo because her uncle had already settled in the area.
While in Toledo, Regina had a lot of jobs – cleaning homes for people, working at Peerless Molded Plastics, Food Town. In 1971 she got into the bar business, running George’s Nightclub on South Ave. and Broadway St. in south Toledo for nearly 30 years before retiring in 1999.
Regina’s family has grown over the years. She had two children herself, and now has over 25 grandkids,great-grandkids, and great-great grandkids.
Her husband, who was 7 years younger than her, passed away last year. She credits having a good husband and happy family for her long life.
Regina also held onto her German heritage and traditions, sharing the love of her home country through music and recipes.
Her favorite German dish to cook was rouladen.
"Rouladen dish. That is slice of beef. You lay it out and put your seasoning, and your bacon, and onions, and roll them up, brown them, and put them in the oven. That makes the best gravy. We call that German roulade," said Regina.
In addition, Regina was very active with the German-American Festival, and even worked at the event in its first year.
She credits having a good husband and happy family for her long life.
Regina celebrated her big day at the Bavarian Sports Club on LaGrange with friends, family, and of course plenty of bratwursts, sauerkraut, and beer.
