Long-time resident celebrates 96th birthday in same Irvington house since childhood

IRVINGTON, NJ — Irvington resident Lillian Kinsinger celebrated her 96th birthday on May 15 in the house she has lived in since she was 7 years old. As people grow, they tend to branch out and move, but Kinsinger never felt a desire to leave Irvington.

Born in 1925, Kinsinger has lived on Maple Place for 89 years.

“My parents owned the house, and I inherited it from my parents,” Kinsinger said on May 13. “I went to Irvington High School; I graduated in 1943, and it was wonderful. It was one of the best schools in the state of New Jersey. The teachers were great, I had very good friends and I think I joined every organization in the high school.”

Kinsinger says she has a beautiful home in Irvington and does not see herself moving away.

“The house is well built and is beautiful. I always liked houses and I was in real estate, so that made things easier keeping up with the house,” she said. “I worked with a broker and, to be very frank with you, I sold a house on almost every street in Irvington. That’s what I did. But unfortunately, it was during a time when people weren’t selling or buying. The prices of the houses were not the prices of houses today, but I did sell nine houses on my street — this whole area.”

Kinsinger has enjoyed dancing since she was 4 years old, and she sings as well, actively participating in the chorus at her church for years. Later, as an adult, she continued to embrace the arts in Irvington.

“My father was very active in the township, and I became active in the township as well,” Kinsinger said. “I worked with children, and I loved to dance. Around Christmastime, I had a small gathering among friends, and I said I didn’t feel well. They told me that I had stage fright. I told them that I didn’t know but I just didn’t feel well. I found out on television that they were saying if you don’t feel well, there was an epidemic of the flu. A friend of mine said to me ‘Lillian, if you have the flu, drink two glasses of wine.’ I took the two glasses of wine and was fine.”

Kinsinger detailed how music ran in her family, and how, even though songwriting wasn’t her favorite early on, she still managed to write a song about the township.

“I played the piano, but my main thing was dancing. Later on, I started to write songs,” Kinsinger said. “The mayor at the time arranged for children to sing for the Battle of the Networks and it was covered on different stations. They had a baseball competition, and they sang there, and they were singing my song. I did work with singers and I kept my hand in it.

“I wrote a song called ‘Township of Irvington’ in the 1970s, and I’ve written songs for the state and country,” she continued. “I have other songs and they’re songs for all occasions — for Father’s Day, for the Statue of Liberty, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Easter Sunday.”

Now, at 96 years old, Kinsinger is even more focused on her musical career and plans to write another song.

“I’d like to get an agent and see what I can do with it,” Kinsinger said. “I do have plans to write another song. I started on Mother’s Day and I’d like to complete it. All I did was write locally in New Jersey, but I’d like to try my hand at published writing and music.”

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