OZARK, Ark. — Nestled along the Arkansas River, the city of Ozark, Arkansas, was established in 1835. It's home to 3,542 people, more than a dozen churches and not one, not two but three centenarians, all born within a day of each other.
Harold Pickartz
Harold Pickartz is the oldest of the bunch, born in Ozark on September 9, 1921.
"I grew up out in the country but I couldn’t wait to get to town," said Harold Pickartz. "I remember a lot about my dad and how we worked together."
His childhood memories include riding horses, playing sports, and school. At 21, Harold volunteered for the draft and went overseas. He enlisted on May 11, 1943, and was assigned to the South Pacific with the 32nd Infantry Division.
"The first thing, you go to World War II. That’s a pretty rough place," Pickartz said.
After coming home, he was deployed to the Korean War in 1951. His family says his memories of the war were recorded and placed in the Presidential Archives in Washington. He's known for using a copper penny to fix multi-million dollar artillery guns.
"I’d like to be remembered for that," Pickartz said.
After 22 years in the Army, Harold became an automotive instructor at Arkansas Valley Technical School, now known as the ATU Ozark campus. He helped organize the National Guard C-Battery in Ozark. He also taught Sunday school at First Presbyterian Church for more than 40 years.
"I guess it’s because no one else wanted to do it!" Pickartz laughed.
Harold married his wife Bessie 45 years ago.
"You know, I tell her I love her every day, twice today! We love each other. And always have," Pickartz said.
They have seven children, 18 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
"Yeah, I didn’t know I had that many!" Pickartz laughed.
But he has fond memories of spending time with all of them!
"Oh, man. We have a good time and we have a good way of eating. We have a good way of traveling," Pickartz said.
Pearlie Bowman
Someone who's no stranger to travel is Pearlie Bowman, born in Patterson Springs, Arkansas, on September 10, 1921, just one day after Harold.
"We got started holding revivals, another lady and me. And we held revivals all over the country," Pearlie Bowman said.
Before she became a pastor, Pearlie married Elvis Bowman at 17 years old and moved to Ozark in 1938 before he shipped out for World War II.
"I prayed for him all the time he was over there, yes. I was worried about him while he was in the service," Bowman said.
The Army veteran died a few years after returning home, leaving Pearlie a single mother.
"It wasn’t easy but by the help of God, we made it," Bowman said. "If you have four children to raise, you pretty well stay busy!"
That included working at a candy factory, and later at the hospital, along with founding Full Gospel Temple in Ozark.
"Just went around to ones that were interested and took up enough money to buy the church," Bowman said.
She became its first pastor and taught Sunday school until just a year ago.
"We just worked with whoever needed help, and we had our classes in church," Bowman said.
Pearlie now has 11 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and seven great-great-grandchildren. They, too, know her love for God.
"When people would come to visit, when they left, we’d all pray, join hands, and pray," Bowman said.
Her spiritual well-being is just as important as her physical health.
"I walked 3 miles a day," Bowman said. "Me and my children made a garden."
She also eats healthy, canning her own food through the years.
UPDATE: 5NEWS received word that Pearlie Bowman passed away on March 1, 2023. Her family says she was still singing hymns just days before her passing. She was placed on hospice in the weeks before her death after her daughter says Pearlie started declining.
Margaret Aich
Pearlie shares a birthday with Margaret Aich, also born on September 10, 1921, in Hays, Kansas.
"I’ll tell it the way it is!” said Margaret Aich. "If I want to do something, I do it. I don’t ask anybody."
Margaret is feisty and has a sense of humor.
"My kids probably regret that I’m around, but who cares?" Aich laughed.
12 kids, eight boys, and four girls, with her husband Leo Aich. They were married on November 22, 1944.
"I had a good family and we all had a good time and everything went well all the way through," Aich said.
They moved to Ozark in 1957, and for a while, the Pickartz, Bowman, and Aich families were all neighbors.
"Very good people. I mean, they speak to you when they see you in town, they’ll talk to you," Aich said.
The couple was married for more than 50 years before Leo died in 1999., but the family continued to grow.
"Oh I love my family and I’ll accept them to come home any day they want," Aich said.
With 25 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren, it's no surprise Margaret drinks three cups of coffee a day.
"Getting up in the morning and having a good day. Start the day right," Aich said.
The lifelong Catholic says the secret to happiness is simple:
"I live one day at a time and enjoy it," Aich said.
Three Centenarians
On this day, all three centenarians and their loved ones gathered to reminisce, and offer advice to the next generation.
"Don’t fight with each other, you know? Be nice to each other," Pickartz said.
Teaching them about knowing Jesus as their savior and taking them to church regularly," Bowman said.
"If you’re not satisfied with what you’re doing in a matter of a month’s time, change it," Aich said.
One thing all of them agree on — they wouldn't change anything about the last 101 years.
"After you get to be a hundred years old, you can do what you want!" Aich exclaimed.
"If it was to do over again, be glad to," Bowman said.
"I’d do the same thing all over again," Aich said.
As the sun sets on another day in Ozark, their memories of the past build a bridge to the future, filled with family and faith.
"We look at this place as being a whole lot of home," Pickartz said.
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