Although he harks back to the days of Mary Pickford and Model T Fords, Black has adapted to become quite a savvy consumer, plugging into the online world while watching the outside one with a close eye.

Born on June 3, 1903, in Roseville, Ill., Black was an only child, raised in the small farming community until his parents decided to move to Los Angeles in 1910.

Black graduated from high school in 1921 and went on to the California Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, student loans were not an option back then, so after one year of college Black went to work. "I wanted to work, save up, and then go back, but cupid got in the way," he says.

Cupid came in a chance meeting with 18-year-old Ruth Mary Overton. After only one year of dating, the two were married and living together in Los Angeles.

In 1923, Black went to work for the Standard Oil Company as a day laborer. He was promoted through the ranks, ultimately placed in the accounting office in Los Angeles and then at the company's home office in San Francisco. "It was an accident that I got into Standard Oil, but I realized it was a good, steady job, so I stayed with it," he says.

The job was steady, all but for a year when the stock market crashed in 1929. Black says he knew many people who were severely hurt by the crash, and when his company had to cut back, he "says he didn't lose any time, finding work as a bank teller. Although making half the wage he was used to, he kept his family afloat. Standard Oil rehired him in 1930 and he stayed there until his retirement in 1967. "I never lost a day's pay between 1923 and 1967," he says proudly.

After retiring, Black spent time traveling and gardening. For many years he was an avid fuchsia and begonia enthusiast, participating in clubs and trips dedicated to each flower. He became even more active in floral organizations when his wife died in 1979.

Over the years, Black witnessed much change—from watching his three boys grow into adults with children of their own, to watching Neil Armstrong walk the moon. Black also remembers the abhorrent start of a young Elvis, commenting that the change in music "has been for the worse, not better."

However, the advancements in technology and business have always kept him fascinated.

"The biggest change I've seen is the way companies have consolidated," he says. "Business and the proliferation of computers and the way of conducting business matters, is striking," he says.

Black is boggled by the way new computer systems work, but appreciates them nonetheless. "It's beyond me," he says but admits with a wave of his hand that,"letters are passé." Black owns a WebTV, which he uses to email friends and family. It makes it easier to talk to friends, and cheaper, as he has many contacts out of state and some out of the country.

Since moving to Los Gatos in 1994, Black has also kept his mind sharp by maintaining statistics at the Meadows—keeping tabs on when residents move and how often apartments are rented out. "It is just something of interest," he says, agreeing that a life of collecting and analyzing numbers doesn't fade with age—much like his own dry sense of humor and steadfast eye for detail.