By Shelly Najjar
“Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative.” --Maurice Chevalier, New York Times, Oct 9, 1960
photo credit: Charlotte Astrid
People today are living longer and healthier lives than in previous years. Last week, I had the chance to interview four people in (or almost in) their 90s, to talk about their lives and to find out if they had any advice for people who would like to live as long as they have.
These interviews took place at The Hearthstone (6720 E Green Lake Way N), a non-profit that was founded in 1966. Paulette Gregory, Director of Marketing at The Hearthstone, says there are currently 187 people in residence, with a range in age from 74 to 106.
The first person I interviewed was Doris M., who grew up in New York and still speaks with remnants of a New York accent in her voice. She is “practically 91,” and says, “I don’t care if people know it.”
It has been a number of years since she was last employed, but her stories of past employment (and employers) were still entertaining, and she recalls them like they were yesterday. Doris has had many jobs, but she takes extra time talking about one in particular.
For several years, Doris worked on the cooking section of the Woman’s Home Companion. She kept some of the editions that she worked on, and as I looked at the pictures, she told me a story of an especially memorable Thanksgiving feature.
Her sister lived in the area, and since no one else at the magazine had family nearby, her sister was asked to host a Thanksgiving dinner. The catch: it was to be in August, because the magazine worked three months in advance of the November publication date. Doris and her friends loaded boxes with turkeys and other ingredients, got on the subway, and arrived at her sister’s house, where they began cooking a large Thanksgiving dinner in the August heat. They even had to use the neighbor’s oven, because there was too much food to put in her sister’s oven alone. Once the food was ready on the table, the staff and other guests went as far as “wearing winter clothes” to make the pictures more believable. She laughed when she told me the story. “It was hot, but it was a lot of fun.”
Doris changed jobs whenever she and her husband, who was a veterinarian, moved to a new location. “The Hearthstone is the twentieth place I’ve lived,” she says, and also notes that she has even moved three times within The Hearthstone.
She tells me about living “a very blessed life,” with all the excitement of living in many places, including overseas. But how did she get to the place she is today, telling me about her 91 years of life? “Diet and exercise,” she says. “Be active. Exercise is very important […] Growing up in New York, we walked all the time.”
Her favorite thing to eat at The Hearthstone is a salad she makes herself at the salad bar, where she mixes arugula, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, mushrooms, radish, and diet Italian dressing.
photo credit: Alanna Risse
Helen M., the second person I interviewed, is “92 and a half,” and grew up in Portland, OR. She is a middle child, evident in her easy-going, independent nature. She attended Oregon State University for a time, and then took the civil service exam and spent a year working in Washington, D.C.
After that year, she returned to Portland to work at the Bonneville Power Administration. At the age of 26 (“an old maid”), she got married to a pharmacist, and in 1957, they moved to Seattle, where they set up a professional pharmacy. Many University of Washington pharmacy students worked with them in the pharmacy, and Helen and her husband often invited them over for meals, advice, and encouragement.
Helen says “I worked thirty one years, side-by-side with my husband in the pharmacy.” In some ways, she says, “I kind of miss work, because there was always something new happening.”
Hearing her say that might sound as if she is bored now, but after interviewing her, I know she is not. Helen is involved in a variety of activities and events. She has been involved in many of The Hearthstone’s social activities, even acting as the Chair and Vice Chair of some groups.
“You have to keep busy and get involved and not just sit and do nothing,” she says when I ask for her secret to longevity. “If you keep busy, time goes by quickly.”
According to Helen, “having an interest in other people, especially children,” is also important to having a long, enjoyable life. Then, like Doris, she adds “eating properly and walking” to her recommendations.
“I have to have my fresh fruit,” she says. Her “best breakfast” is blueberries, raspberries, and slices of both banana and peach, all on top of a little bit of cereal and some yogurt.
Helen walks regularly, enjoying the Green Lake neighborhood and shops. “I don’t want to live any longer than I can’t walk,” she says.
John G., the only male I interviewed, also lives an active life, regularly taking long bike rides. On some days, he bikes around Green Lake multiple times.
John requests that people follow the signs that designate the side furthest from the lake for wheels (bikes, rollerblades, skateboards, etc) and the side closer to the lake for everything else (walkers, joggers, strollers, etc). He says “people go all over,” and it makes it difficult to avoid collisions, even at slow speeds.
At 89 years old (he will be 90 very soon), John is the youngest of the four people I interviewed. He does not smoke or excessively drink and says his advice for people who want to reach an older age is “regular exercise; something to get you breathing and your heart beating.”
He was employed at a telephone company, just like the fourth (and oldest) person I interviewed, Margaret L.
“I used the Teletype,” she says. “They wanted someone who didn’t type too fast because it didn’t work with the good typers. So I got the job.”
photo credit: DanCentury
After she got married, she stopped working at the phone company, but did work at Frederick & Nelson during the holidays one year. She laughs at the memory and says, “I had such a wonderful time spending my money. I don’t think any of it went to the family.”
Even though today she is 99 years of age (soon to be 100), Margaret is just as busy as the others. She used to volunteer with schools and various organizations, but during the interview she tells me about her current interest.
“My main love nowadays is bridge. I love to play bridge. It was five times a week but my friends are getting old, so now I play three times a week.”
She also spends her time reading romance novels (“I don’t want anything heavy anymore”), and has a new pink walker (“I call it the Pink Panther”) that allows her to walk steadier.
“I’m trying to walk around all the time,” she says.
When I ask her how she got to be 99 years old, Margaret says, “I don’t have the least idea […] It just happened […] I haven’t any big secret at all, I just go along.” Most of her siblings lived to be in their 70s and 80s, but her older sister, with whom Margaret shares a birthday, lived to be 97.
“She and I must have dipped into a gene pool of some kind and got something good out of it.”
Like Margaret suggests (and research is finding), longevity may be in the genetic code of the four people I interviewed. John says, “We’re a healthy family”; Doris tells me that her mother, whom she calls her “Rock of Gibraltar,” lived to be 91; and Helen says that her parents lived to be 93 and 94 years old.
Even without a family history of longevity, it is worth it to follow the advice of this group and eat right, stay active, and perhaps above all, enjoy the adventure.
*Names have been shortened or changed to protect privacy.
The Hearthstone is a My Green Lake advertiser.
