Having served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Poland at the age of 80, Martha Strunsky said age has never and would never hold her back



Ms. Strunsky continued her pursuit of knowledge by joining the Peace Corps, where she served in Poland for two years teaching English at two separate schools. The Shirley Court resident said conditions, at times, resembled the 19th century. To her, the Peace Corps is more of an educational experience for its volunteer participants than a humanitarian program for needy populations. The organization enables Americans to go beyond their own borders both physically and educationally, she said. Now that she has finished her two-year tenure with the Peace Corps, which she said she would like to repeat, Ms. Strunsky can often be found picking up political or historical texts at the Princeton Public Library, exercising at the YWCA Princeton or enjoying a stout at Triumph Brewing Company on Nassau Street.

Having served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Poland at the age of 80, Martha Strunsky said age has never and would never hold her back

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH PROFILE

Caption: Martha Strunsky has been a volunteer and world traveler who has brought her whimsical personality to classrooms around the world. Photo: Mark Czajkowski

Just like her contagious laughter, Martha Strunsky's comical personality seems infectious.

A chatterbox at heart, who has as many stories as stamps in her passport, Ms. Strunsky has tales from across the globe of life, love and hardship. She has witnessed and participated in debates on religion and science, war and peace and prejudice and civil rights.

A volunteer and world traveler, the 86-year-old Princeton resident has made it a point to topple cultural barriers by bringing her bubbly and whimsical personality to classrooms across the globe.

While resting her wrist beneath her chin on a recent afternoon, Ms. Strunsky reflected on the journeys she has taken and the progress she has witnessed — some events that embrace equality, others that challenge it.

"One of the greatest advantages of being old is you see all of these things — evolution, racism, recycling, women — you see all these things coming to life," Ms. Strunsky said as she pushed her short gray hair back from her forehead.

A self-proclaimed "troublemaker," Ms. Strunsky broke barriers for women of her generation by conquering traditional concepts of the female role in society in her young adulthood and more recently challenging stereotypes of the elderly.

Having served in the Peace Corps at the age of 80, Ms. Strunsky said age has never and would never hold her back. Instead of fearing growing old, Ms. Strunsky said she hoped the elderly could embrace the wisdom and knowledge that accompanies their decades of experience.

"I think it's awfully sad that we've managed to make people be afraid of getting old," she noted. "We have to make it somehow rewarding, not just bearable, but rewarding and interesting and fun."

An advocate of education, Ms. Strunsky emphasized the connections between traveling and knowledge, where visiting the world's farthest corners and most remote villages can grant a greater perspective than lectures in crowded classrooms.

These experiences are seen in the Japanese shade hanging on her wall or the objects she has acquired in her travels that are scattered throughout her living room.

"My way of learning is always to spread out as far as you can," Ms. Strunsky said of her travels.

With residential stints in Paris and Crete, Ms. Strunsky spent most of her adult life in the Princeton area with her late husband former CBS Director of Corporate Affairs Robert Strunsky.

Following his death in 1991, Ms. Strunsky continued her pursuit of knowledge by joining the Peace Corps, where she served in Poland for two years teaching English at two separate schools.

The Shirley Court resident said conditions, at times, resembled the 19th century.

To her, the Peace Corps is more of an educational experience for its volunteer participants than a humanitarian program for needy populations. The organization enables Americans to go beyond their own borders both physically and educationally, she said.

Ms. Strunsky has always been testing those boundaries, even during her young adulthood.

Born in St. Louis, Ms. Strunsky spent her childhood in southern California. She attended UCLA to study English and theater.

At a time when military service for women was unlikely and sporadic, Ms. Strunsky enlisted in the Navy during World War II serving as a ground school instructor and training mostly teenagers on the use of instruments in fighter planes.

A member of the Navy's all-female WAVE, or the Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service unit, Ms. Strunsky spent from 1943 to 1945 in southern Texas.

Even then, Ms. Strunsky questioned the role of females in the armed forces — not their capabilities, but their recognition.

"Believe me, things were different," Ms. Strunsky recalled. "Now, they couldn't get along without us," she quipped, referring to women in the military today.

Living to the sound of propellers, Ms. Strunsky said at first women were not allowed to operate planes. But over time the servicewomen were permitted to operate the controls beside instructors, gradually getting more responsibility as the war progressed.

Alluding to her endless appetite for adventure and new experiences, Ms. Strunsky said the highlight of her service was mastering slow-roll flight maneuvers and loops that could turn the stomachs of some.

Following World War II, Ms. Strunsky received a certification from the University of Southern California and began teaching high school English.

In 1948, Ms. Strunsky married John Bowen and the couple later moved to Princeton. Following his death in 1972, Ms. Strunsky relocated briefly to Manhattan where she worked as an editor.

During her time in New York City, she continued to test and tiptoe across social boundaries. For example, while editing textbooks for a New York-based publisher, she questioned the influence of religion on science as school districts requested evolution be removed from textbooks.

And even now, she continues to consider controversial matters.

Now that she has finished her two-year tenure with the Peace Corps, which she said she would like to repeat, Ms. Strunsky can often be found picking up political or historical texts at the Princeton Public Library, exercising at the YWCA Princeton or enjoying a stout at Triumph Brewing Company on Nassau Street.

She continues to encourage cross-cultural communication, even if she is not trotting across the globe, by mentoring international students at Princeton University and testing their English skills with her cheerful company and engaging conversation.

Beyond her experience and her acquisition of endless stories, Ms. Strunsky would pass on this valuable lesson: You have to take care of two things — your teeth and your feet. Your teeth to keep a healthy diet and your feet so you can always keep moving.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: March, 2007; Peace Corps Poland; Directory of Poland RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Poland RPCVs; Older Volunteers; The Peace Corps Library; Peace Corps History; Bulletin Board; Recent Peace Corps News

When this story was posted in May 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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