A Starr turns 90

On January 31, Merle (Ward) Starr will celebrate her 90th birthday.

Though she may not have the deep roots other families in the Valley claim, Merle has been a lifelong Saratoga resident having been born in the Valley in 1932. She also has the privilege to see the 3rd and 4th generation of her family live and thrive in Saratoga.

Merle's father, Fred Ward, Sr., was born in Addison, Michigan in 1892 and was one of 10 children. At the age of 8, Fred's mother passed and the children were all taken in by relatives and went their separate ways. As a young man, Merle's father hopped a freight train w...