By ALYSSA CHOINIERE Daily American Staff Writer Daily American

11:04 p.m. EDT, September 16, 2012
SOMERSET-—

"Did you swipe my fork?" Cooper asked suspiciously eyeing her friend Garnet Glenn, the newest addition to their group.

 

When asked how she became a part of it, she answered, "They just asked me, so I came."

 

Glenn was a registered nurse and midwife who delivered many Somerset residents. Her friends said that she often spends a portion of their dinner pointing out other restaurant patrons that she delivered.

 

"One boy we delivered at Friedens, and he still works at the hospital," Glenn said. She said that she delivered many babies in their homes. 

 

In her time, she wore a starched dress and hat. She was trained at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, which had a program affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her registered nursing certification after three years. She said that she worked for doctors Marlin S. Cargill and Harold E. Musser Jr. 

 

Her husband, Kenneth Glenn, was a prisoner of war for 2 1/2 years in Germany during World War II. He was shot down during his sixth mission while stationed in Germany. He survived a death march across Germany. 

 

For one year, Garnet didn't know whether he was dead or alive. She learned he was alive when a man in Somerset wrote a letter to Kenneth Glenn's mother saying he saw him at his camp. 

 

When asked what she did during the uncertain time of Kenneth's imprisonment, she replied simply, "I worked."

 

She said that many nurses were being drafted, and to avoid being drafted, she enlisted. She was stationed in Philadelphia awaiting deployment when the war ended. Kenneth returned home, weighing only 90 pounds at 6 feet 2 inches tall. The two were married, and he became a state trooper.

 

Glenn cared for her husband when he was diagnosed with cancer. He lived until he was 90 years old and died in 2008. He never had to go to a nursing home because his wife cared for him at home. She worked as a registered nurse until she was 81 years old.

 

"Time goes fast when you're busy," she said. "I can hardly believe I'll soon be 96."

 

The women meet at 5 p.m. every Sunday and pick a different restaurant every week. Their favorites are Arby's, Eat 'n Park, and the Summit Diner. No matter what restaurant they pick, they always see someone they know. Whether they find a pool shark Cooper hosted at the hotel, a churchgoer Lady served, or a baby Glenn delivered, they always find more friends.