Local Businessman Celebrates 100th Birthday

BOSTON -- Are you thinking about retirement? Meet Lester Peabody.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported Tuesday that until a few years ago, he was a regular in his Boston office -- when he was in his 90s.

VIDEO: Local Businessman Celebrates 100th Birthday

His family and staff at the company he helped build gathered to celebrate his 100th birthday.

Lester Peabody helped build the company in the downtown Boston location. They sell high-end office furniture, but it started with a simple tool.

"It started with typewriters. That was in 1899," Lester Peabody said.

The repair and sale of typewriters quickly gave way to office furniture. Over the decades, they moved around Boston from Pearl Street to Atlantic Avenue. The founder stepped aside for his son, Lester.

Grandson Christopher Peabody is the fourth generation to work the business. His father, Jonathan, was generation three, but it was Lester Peabody who set the standard. He said the Depression years were some of the most difficult. He likened them to today.

He said getting to be 100 years old isn't that hard. He offered some advice.

"Having a good diet and certain habits that lend to good health," he said.