June 11, 2007
Centenarian Comments, Photos Now Available for Viewing
Chester’s Ethel Strom couldn’t speak English when she started grade school, and Conrad’s Wilma Sanders hasn’t quite figured out the Internet.
Strom, 103, and Sanders, 100, were two of six centenarians honored at a special luncheon during the recent 39th annual Governor’s Conference on Aging held in Helena last month. Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger presented the honorees with a framed certificate identifying them as a Montana Centenarian.
Insightful anecdotes and photos of the centenarians receiving their awards from Bohlinger are now posted on the conference web site at www.aging.mt.gov under the heading Governors’ Conference on Aging. Also featured on the web site is a list of 53 Montana centenarians known to the council.
The oldest centenarian in attendance was Hall’s Mary Jensen, 105. Rounding out the list are three 100-year-old women including Bozeman’s Gladys Olsen and Lorraine Stamper Enloe and Edwinna Cottrell Engellant both of Great Falls.
Before the conference, the centenarians were asked to share information about their lives. The comments received blend history with some fun, unique facts.
Sanders writes: “I can’t understand how my daughter-in-law in Alaska can use her computer on the Internet to get the article about this luncheon. It’s a complete mystery.”
Strom, parents of Swedish immigrants, remembers starting grade school in Sherwood, N.D. in 1904 and being frustrated about not being able to communicate with her classmates. “So when I started school I could not speak English,” she writes. “When I talked they laughed and said, ‘What is she talking about?’ I just didn’t want to go back. But my parents said I had to go to school.”
The 2000 census identified 162 centenarians living in Montana and it is estimated that by 2025 they will number over 3,000. The state is expected to rank fourth in the nation, proportionally, for individuals over the age of 65. “The writing is on the wall, and it’s in grey, that Montana is getting older,” Bohlinger said. “These centenarians are showing us the way and we, as a state, need to be prepared for our up and coming seniors.”
The Governors Advisory Council on Aging is always seeking centenarians to recognize and honor. If you are a centenarian or are aware of one, please contact LaMoure at 1-406-444-7782 or blamoure@mt.gov.
