AYLMER, ON
At 88 years young, Mr. George Wiebe is the last man standing at the Aylmer Menno Home. While he does occasionally miss the chance to talk about the price of hogs these days with the boys, there are some benefits to being the only man left in a building full of widows.
“I get more trays of platz delivered to my door than a man my age can eat,” said Wiebe. “They’re always so friendly, those women. I haven’t had this much attention from the womenfolk my whole life.”
Wiebe says he was never really a ladies man and, in fact, the only woman he’s ever kissed was his late with Dorothy, who passed away in 2015.
“I’m not used to this kind of thing. Mrs. Penner’s at my door at 8 am with freshly cooked cracklings and eggs. Mrs. Klassen’s stopping by in the middle of the afternoon wondering if I’m up for a game of Skip-bo. It’s insanity,” said Wiebe. “I don’t know what’s gotten into these ladies, but it seems as soon as they hit 90, they get real eager if you know what I mean.”
Mr. Wiebe says he doesn’t mind the attention, but sometimes it’s a bit much.
“One time I just locked the door and pretended I wasn’t in,” explained Wiebe. “The problem was I forgot to put out the ‘I’m alive and awake’ sign and so they called the ambulance.”
“Oba, that was a close one,” said Mrs. Penner. “We thought we’d lost Mr. Wiebe, too, but thankfully it was a false alarm. I’m so glad he’s still with us…and he’s all mine!”
Mrs. Penner is already planning a summer wedding, although Mr. Wiebe says he’s had numerous other offers and hasn’t made his mind up yet.