Go to bed early; get good rest before midnight; and solve your problems before you go to bed so you can get a good night's sleep.

These were some of the words of wisdom which nonagenarian Geary Pitcher shared with students when he visited Clearwater Middle School in St. George's yesterday.

Other than a hearing aid and glasses for reading, one would not know Mr.

Pitcher had been around for 94 years.

The Seventh Day Adventist attributed his good health to God and a mainly vegetarian diet.

The long-time boat-builder also attributed a healthier local society years ago to hard work and discipline.

As a guest of honour at the school's Heritage Assembly, Mr. Pitcher described Bermuda before there were cars or "even horses''.

"Islanders were law-abiding in those days,'' the lively senior citizen recalled. "Never heard of a St. David's Islander being in jail.'' Parents ruled their homes in St. David's, he stressed, adding he grew up in a loving, but disciplined house.

Mr. Pitcher also told of how residents of St. David's helped each other.

"The farmers helped each other with the crops. When potatoes were placed in sacks, they reached almost to the ceiling,'' he said pointing to the ceiling in the assembly hall.

No stranger to hard work, Mr. Pitcher worked as a stone cutter and built six houses for himself.

And during the Second World War he caught 700 pounds of fish per week for the British Army.