Velma  Lober will let her beauty shine at the Missouri Health Care Division V beauty pageant on July 11 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Lober will be representing Camelot Nursing & Rehab Center of Farmington where she now resides in the “Let Your Beauty Shine” pageant.

Contestants will be judged on: personality for age, spryness/spunk for age, physical appearance, ability to express happiness in her life in a nursing facility, participation in activities in her facility, life activities described on her resume, attitude towards life in general and her fellowman, her smile, and her talents.

Lober, who is 96 years young, has had an active life and continues to take part in the many activities provided at Camelot. She was born on December 31, 1911 to John D. and Maude Rion, and had four sisters and one brother. One of her brothers, Johnny Rion, became a popular country singer, especially known for his rendition of “The Iron Mountain Baby.”

Lober has had many interests in her lifetime: she worked at the MFA Feed Store in Farmington for 15 years, played drums in a band, and received trophies for her bowling skills. She is also an avid doll collector, a hobby aided by the fact that her late husband of 67 years, Paul Lober, was a well-known auctioneer in this area.

But her main love was writing poetry, and many of her poems were published in area newspapers. She wrote poems about the events of everyday life, aging, and tributes to such people as Princess Diana and Mother Teresa. But of all the poems she wrote, her favorite is “The Little Fisherman” about a young boy and his fishing expedition.

The Little Fisherman

This little boy went ‘fishing’ in

A puddle by the barn.

His mother ‘rigged’ him up a pole

And strung it with some yarn.

He told her he’d be gone awhile

She better fix a snack,

And if he caught a lot of fish

She’d have to help him back.

She put his hat upon his head

And kissed him on the cheek,

And told him she would keep in touch

With now and then a peek.

He took a little stool along

And down the path he went.

To him he felt just like a “pro”

Just waved with no comment.

He fished and fished a long, long time,

Then ‘bout his mother thought.

He’d better go and tell her ‘bout

The fish he never caught.

Back home, she opened up the door

A memory she would keep.

He sat down in his little chair,

And soon was fast asleep.

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