Deaconess Gerda Hegemann celebrates her 100th birthday
Boredom is a foreign word for deaconess Gerda Hegemann. Even at almost 100 years old, the Bielefeld native, whose birthday is on 22 July, knows how to keep herself busy. Her great passion is crocheting. She has already created a small zoo with monkeys, elephants and bears in her room at the "Frieda v. Bodelschwingh" residential home in Bethel. "I'm grateful that my fingers are still so fit even in old age," says the deaconess. As soon as she holds the needles in her hands, she forgets everything around her. She is also jokingly referred to as "Gerda the manufacturer". Her cushions, tablecloths and crocheted animals are always very popular at the Sarepta Sisterhood's Christmas bazaar. But there is one thing she can't part with. "My little sheep stays with me," she says firmly.