Lenore Arnett Young was born in 1918, the year World War I ended, when most Americans had never made a telephone call and horses still outnumbered automobiles. She lived to witness humanity landing on the moon, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the birth of the internet, and the smartphone revolution. Her hundred years encompassed the entire sweep of the 20th century and the dawn of the 21st—a lifetime that witnessed more technological, social, and cultural change than any previous generation in human history.
But Lenore's significance to the Van Dyke family story extends far beyond her remarkable longevity. She was the bridge—the living connection between Benjamin Franklin Van Dyke's Oklahoma Territory and the modern age, between William Van Dyck's Revolutionary War service and the 21st century, between the Dutch settlers of New Netherland and her own great-grandchildren. In her memory lived stories that stretched across four centuries of American history, stories she carefully preserved and passed forward to ensure they would never be forgotten.
1918 – 2018
Lenore Arnett Young
A century of grace, federal service, and family connection. Lenore's life spanned from the end of World War I to the age of smartphones, carrying the Van Dyke family story forward through the complete transformation of modern America.
Read her story →
Multiple Generations
Family Photo Chronicles
A visual journey through Lenore's century, featuring family photographs spanning multiple generations, holiday gatherings, milestones, and the everyday moments that defined a hundred years of American family life.
Coming in Phase 4
Interactive Experience
The Century Timeline
Now Available
An interactive timeline placing Lenore's personal milestones alongside major world events—from the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 to the moon landing to 9/11 to the smartphone revolution, showing one life lived against the backdrop of history.
Family Contributions
Living Memory Project
A collection of family memories, stories, and reflections about Lenore—preserving the personal moments and cherished recollections that defined who she was beyond the historical timeline.
Future Enhancement
Witnessing a Century of Change
To fully appreciate Lenore's life, we must understand the staggering scope of change her generation witnessed. She was born in a world that would have been recognizable to someone from the 1800s—a world of horse-drawn carriages, oil lamps, outhouses, and limited communication beyond the local community. She died in a world where people carry supercomputers in their pockets, communicate instantly across the globe, and can video-call with someone on the International Space Station.
When Lenore was born in 1918:
- Only 35% of American homes had electricity
- Indoor plumbing was a luxury for the wealthy
- The average American never traveled more than 50 miles from their birthplace
- Women had just won the right to vote (ratified in 1920)
- The Spanish Flu pandemic was killing millions worldwide
- Motion pictures were still silent, in black and white
- Radio broadcasting didn't yet exist
- Commercial aviation was decades away
By the time Lenore passed away in 2018:
- Humanity had walked on the moon and sent probes beyond our solar system
- The internet connected billions of people globally
- Smartphones gave everyone access to all human knowledge
- Commercial jet travel had made the world feel small
- Medical advances had nearly doubled life expectancy
- Television, computers, and digital technology had transformed daily life
- The Cold War had been fought and won
- Social movements had reshaped American society
Lenore didn't just observe these changes—she lived through them, adapted to them, embraced them. She went from a childhood without electricity to video-chatting with distant relatives. From a world where news took weeks to travel to one where events were broadcast live around the globe. From handwritten letters to email to text messages. She witnessed the complete transformation of the modern world, yet maintained her connection to the past, to the family stories, to the heritage that stretched back four centuries to Dutch New Netherland.
A Life Lived Through History
Born into a New Era
Lenore entered the world the same year World War I ended. The Spanish Flu pandemic raged. Women were about to win the right to vote. The modern age was just beginning.
Coming of Age in Hard Times
At age 11, Lenore witnessed the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression. Her formative years were shaped by economic hardship, resilience, and the values of thrift and hard work that defined her generation.
World War II
In her early twenties during World War II, Lenore's generation answered the call to service. The war transformed America from a Depression-era nation into a global superpower.
Federal Service
Lenore built a career with the United States Department of Agriculture during the transformative post-war decades, contributing to the modernization of American agriculture.
One Giant Leap
At age 51, Lenore watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. The impossible had become real—humanity had left Earth and reached another world.
The Cold War Ends
At age 71, Lenore witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War—the conflict that had defined international relations for her entire adult life.
The Internet Age
In her eighties and nineties, Lenore adapted to email, smartphones, and social media—technology that connected her with distant family members and allowed her to share the old stories with new generations.
A Century Complete
At age 100, Lenore passed away, having witnessed more change in one lifetime than any previous generation in human history. She left behind a legacy of family connection, preserved stories, and the bridge she built between past and present.
“In Lenore, the past was never abstract or distant. She carried it forward—not just in memory, but in the stories she told, the values she embodied, and the connections she maintained. Through her, four centuries of Van Dyke family history remained alive, real, and relevant to each new generation.”