The Jewish Home | MAY 5, 2022
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the world record for the longest career at a single company. Walter Orthmann’s world record of 84 years and nine days with a textile company called ReneauxView was confirmed and certified earlier this year, Guinness World Records said last week. He was hired at the age of 15 and has worked for the company ever since.
“I don’t do much planning, nor care much about tomorrow,” Orthmann said in a news release. “All I care about is that tomorrow will be another day in which I will wake up, get up, exercise, and go to work. You need to get busy with the present, not the past or the future. Here and now is what counts. So, let’s go to work!” Orthmann started working at the company, a weaving mill, when his fam-
ily fell on hard times. He got the job due to his proficiency in German, a language in which he was fluent because he was born in the heavily German town of Brusque in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The record-breaking career began when Orthmann was hired as a shipping assistant in 1938. He has since moved up the ranks, becoming an administrative assistant, then landing a job in sales before becoming a sales manager, which is the position he continues to hold. Although he no longer travels for his work, he is in charge of coordinating a team of representatives. Orthmann, who remains in good health, said the best advice he can give people is to work for a good company in a field where they feel motivated to succeed. His success came from his outstanding skills, openness, and eagerness to do more than expected, according to the news release. The centenarian broke his own world record of 81 years and 85 days, which he set in 2019. While Orthmann said his job as a sales manager gives him a sense of purpose and commitment, the world record is his proudest achievement. “With my Guinness World Records title, I feel proud, honored, and happy to
have achieved something that on the one hand is rather rare, but on the other is simply the result of my passion to work as something that makes me wholesome,” Orthmann said at the time. This guy is a piece of work.
Match Made in Heaven
If you were on a Southwest flight from Dallas to Las Vegas on Sunday, you should have been wearing your wedding clothes. Pam and Jeremy Salda’s story begins in August 2020, when they began dating. Fast forward a few years, and the couple became elated when they heard of the mask mandates being lifted on some airlines. Together, they joked about getting married in Las Vegas. But a joke turned into something real when they booked flights, and Pam bought a wedding dress and had it overnighted. They set their wedding chapel appointment for 9 p.m. on Sunday night in Las Vegas. Pam, wearing her new wedding gown, and Jeremy, in his suit, boarded their flight to their wedding. But it was not meant to be. Delays led to their final flight to Vegas being cancelled.
At the airport, the couple met Chris Kilgora, another passenger on the same flight to Vegas, who happened to be an ordained minister. When he heard their story, he offered to marry the couple in Vegas himself. From there, the three of them found a Southwest flight headed to Las Vegas with only four seats left This flight, however, was scheduled out of Dallas Love Field (DAL) airport, which was about 25 minutes away. “We had 50 minutes before the plane took off,” Pam recalled. “We told the Uber to floor it, and he did.” As they were running through the Dallas airport in their wedding attire, people were shouting their congratulations to them. Pam and Jeremy eventually made it to the gate. As they boarded, the captain was curious about Pam’s wedding dress. She explained the story and joked about getting married on the flight. To her surprise, the pilot responded, “Let’s do it!” Together, the crew made sure to give Pam the wedding of her dreams. Members of the crew hung up streamers out of toilet paper. They made Kilgora a sash out of snack bags. Pam, the beaming bride, walked down the aisle. One of the flight attendants stood in as maid of honor. “Southwest has been the love airline for nearly 51 years,” Southwest said in a written statement. “We always enjoy an opportunity to celebrate our customers in special ways.” Of course, no wedding is complete without a cake. One passenger offered up their leftover powdered doughnut to serve as the wedding cake. “It’s so strange how everything fell into place,” Pam said. A notebook was even passed around as a makeshift guest book. Pam says the other passengers left messages inside about how the unexpected wedding brightened their day. Sounds like it was love at first flight.
Did you know? The average mom will have changed approximately 7,300 diapers by the time her baby reaches age two
