DIXFIELD — The Dixfield Congregational Church acknowledged seven community members who are age 90 or older on July 17.

Margaret Bailey, 95, was born Aug. 7, 1920, in Greenwood. She graduated from Woodstock High School and married her husband, Willard, and had six daughters. She enjoyed making wood products for Echo Mill in Locke Mills.

Bailey said her secret to living a long life is “keeping the faith,” and that her greatest life accomplishments are working and keeping her health.

“Make the best of what you have and look for others to help,” she said.

Bertha “Betty” Barrett, 91, was born July 1, 1925, in Providence, Rhode Island. She graduated from Mexico High School in 1942, married her husband Walston and had six children. She’s always been a dedicated member in her community. She held various positions within the school system and refers to herself as “jack-of-all trades.”

Barrett was the first woman on the Board of Selectmen in Mexico, served on the Budget Committee and the School Board, and was awarded Citizen of the Year. She’s always been known for her honesty, integrity, her ability to be open about her opinions and her willingness to listen to others.

She stressed the importance of never holding a grudge. One of her greatest achievements came from the work she did with Bill Gates to start Med-Care Ambulance.

Queenie Blodgett, 91, was born June 7, 1925, in London and attended Morland Street School in London. She married her husband Silas in Bedford, England, and they had five children. She worked in a variety of different departments at Diamond National, producing matchsticks.

Blodgett absolutely loves children and said that spending time with them is how she has lived a long life. She said her greatest achievement in life was having children.

Helen Elward, 90, was born Dec. 10, 1925, in Three Rivers, Quebec, and graduated from Livermore Falls High School. She married her husband John and they had three children. She started out working for New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. as an operator and went on to work as the switchboard operator for Oxford Paper Co. in Rumford.

When asked her secret to living a long life, Elward said it was “my belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.” She said her greatest life achievement is her family and time spent with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Audrey Dodge Gensel, 92, was born Aug. 7, 1923 in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and attended school in the Haddonfield Public School System. She married her husband, John Garcia Gensel, on May 23, 1943. They had three children.

She said her secret to living a long life is “keeping occupied because I taught elementary school for 31 years.”

Her husband was a Lutheran pastor in New York City, and she said, “I was glad I helped my husband because the jazz ministry was a very favorable aspect of my life.” She said her greatest life accomplishment is her happy Christian family.

Bill Schnorr, 90, was born Sept. 9, 1925, in Slatersville, Rhode Island. He attended Burrillville High School and joined the Air Force before graduation. He married his wife, Fe, Feb. 12, 2001, and has seven children.

When asked the secret to living a long life, he said, “I’ve got to give the credit to Togus Hospital — a six-way bypass and a valve replacement. Togus is a shrine to me.”

When asked about his greatest life accomplishment, he said, “My construction business in Rhode Island. I was offered a million dollars for it, turned it down and gave it to my son. I loved that business and I still do,” he said.

Marlin Thurston, 94, was born June 21, 1922, in Rumford. He attended Rumford schools. He married Ethelyn in 1941, had three children, and now eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He’s a U.S. Army veteran who served as a prison guard for six months while on active duty. He spent 30 years as a dairy farmer and enjoyed owning a sawmill.

When asked his secret to living a long life, he said “I’m not a church-going man, but the old man upstairs has looked after me.”

He said his greatest achievment in life is his family.