Former Grass Valley resident turns 100

Christian F. Dreyer is celebrating 100 years of life today. Although he relocated to the Monterey Bay area 27 years ago, many local people will remember the avid tennis player.

Dreyer spent many hours on the courts at Grass Valley Memorial Park playing pickup games with other locals. Two men who remember him well are Mike Blake and Mert Austin, both high school students at that time. They describe Dreyer as their mentor who contributed to their lifelong love of tennis.

Dreyer attributes his longevity to God's will, hard work, a healthy lifestyle and exercise. Born in Cranford, N.J., to a farming family, he knew hard work from an early age. The first member of his family to graduate high school, he did so at the age of 16. Four years later, when his father sold the farm, Dreyer enlisted in the U.S. Army in order to attend the USMA-West Point preparatory school. Dreyer received an appointment to West Point in July 1928 and subsequently graduated in 1932 with a degree in civil engineering. He continued on a military career path, transferring to the U.S. Air Force when it separated from the U.S. Army Air corps, retiring in 1961 as a brigadier general.

After retirement, Dreyer worked in heavy construction with the Paul Hardeman Co., which contracted with NID. This employment brought him and his wife, Mary Louise, to Grass Valley. Here they built their home, doing most of the work themselves. Dreyer also enjoyed gardening and grew many vegetables, which Mary canned, froze and shared with others. Tennis filled the spare hours of his day.

Dreyer remained in Grass Valley until the death of his wife. Dreyer then married Phyllis Moore, the widow of a West Point classmate, and relocated to Pacific Grove in the Monterey Bay area. He continued his exercise regimen by taking up Tai Chi and using Indian clubs. Today, he and his wife Phyllis, 92, reside in an assisted living center in Monterey.