Carol Rubin, 101, is still going strong

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Living beyond 100 requires a fair amount of luck, but for Glen Cove resident Carol Rubin, longevity is a result of community involvement and being physically active. 

When the 101- year-old Rubin isn’t fulfilling her duties as president of Friends of the Glen Cove Public Library, or as co-vice president of the Retired Council of Teachers, she can be found swimming at the YMCA. 

Before moving to Glen Cove, Rubin lived through major points in American history while taking care of her family.  Some of her earliest memories are from the Great Depression. While sitting on a bus with her mother in the Bronx as a child, she saw people standing in long lines waiting for bread rations. She didn’t understand the significance of the events around her, but her mother, a court stenographer, explained that some people couldn’t afford to eat and were receiving government assistance.

“She said they’re too poor,” Rubin recounted. “They have no jobs, no money.” 

Luckily, Rubin’s family wasn’t affected by economic hardship, and she was able to enjoy her childhood. From a young age, she developed a love of swimming. She frequented a beach in New Jersey with her father, where she would sit on his shoulders until it was time for her to jump into the water. Her love of swimming led her to train for six months for the 1936 Olympics, but she decided to continue with her education rather than become an Olympic swimmer. 

Rubin grew up in the Bronx, went to public school in Manhattan and graduated from New York University with a degree in social work. She married her

husband, Morton Rubin, a year after graduation. 

During the final years of World War II, they lived on a naval base in Quonset, RI. When Emily, their third child was born in 1957, they moved to Glen Cove from Fresh Meadows. After looking at many homes around Long Island, Rubin and her husband decided on Glen Cove on the advice of a friend who lived in the city. When Rubin and her husband found a home with a living room, fireplace, and dishwasher, they knew they had to buy quickly since mortgage rates were going up from a quarter-percent to a half- percent. 

When they moved to Glen Cove, they joined the YMCA as charter members. She has been a member of the YMCA for 65 years and goes swimming at least twice a week. 

After her youngest child was in sixth grade, Rubin became a student teacher for the Landing Elementary School while attending Adelphi University pursuing a master’s degree in education. Rubin was transferred to the North Shore School district to substitute for a year to cover for a teacher who became sick. She was hired by the district as a full-time teacher after the principal of the Glen Head elementary school insisted she continue working with the district. She worked for the North Shore School district for 23 years before retiring in 1991.  

While on a trip through South America in 2005, Rubin’s husband became ill. He was sent to a hospital, but because there was a language barrier Rubin and her husband returned to their hotel. Around 1 a.m., Rubin saw her husband sitting in a chair and realized something was wrong. By the time help came, he had died from congestive heart failure. “My husband died in my arms,” Rubin said. 

Rubin has had many losses in her life. She has seen the loss of her parents, other family members and within the past three years, 10 of her close friends died. 

“You don’t really replace those losses because you can’t, but what you can do is you can replenish the spirit and the energy and passion for life,” said Carol Waldman, former executive director of the Glen Cove Senior Center. “That’s one of Carol’s big messages and it’s not only what she says, it’s how she lives.” 

Waldman, who grew to know Rubin through the senior center, said that the two would frequently talk about getting older and reflected on what that meant to them both.  

“Sometimes as you get older, the world can make you feel like it’s closing in on you,” Waldman said. “You know that you have less and less connection, but Carol is one of those people who can show us that the longer you live, the more there is to learn.” 

Waldman said that through the losses, they both experienced growing older and opportunities have been created to grow more as people. 

Rubin’s son, Richard, said that his mother’s exercise regimen, close friendships and love of reading give her strength at 101. 

As an avid reader, it’s fitting that Rubin has been president of the Friends of the Library for 15 years. She said she believes that a strong public library creates a thriving community. 

“I hope to be like her,” said Barbara Lamotta, Friends of the Library board member.  “She’s still voices her opinion. I wish I was as motivated as her.”