It's not every day you get to meet someone who has had 100 birthdays. It's even more rare when there are three of them living under the same roof.
That's just the case at North Ridge Lodge. The supportive living facility near the Youville Home is the residence of centenarians Elsie Dittman, Mary James and Mabel Spady. They all enjoy pretty good health and happiness thanks to hard work, good nutrition and the love and care of their families and caregivers at the lodge.
With so many years and so much experience between them all, there is hardly enough space to share all of their stories. Here then is an abbreviated look at the lives and adventures of these golden girls through their own anecdotes.
Elsie Dittman, born Tuesday, Oct. 4, 1910
There couldn't be anyone more in comfort at North Ridge Lodge than Elsie Dittman.
"I don't need anything else, not a thing," she admitted. "I'm perfectly content."
"So long as she has green tea and broccoli," added her daughter, Bobbie Nicholson. "And lots of butter."
Those might be the simple ingredients that have contributed to the recipe of her long life. The first of these three ladies to make it to the century mark, Dittman is well known for her good humour and vitality.
She demonstrated both qualities during last year's Mayor's Walk for Charity. She and Nicholson only meant to walk the shorter half route but so many people offered encouragement and support that they got distracted. Somewhere along the way, they forgot where they were and ended up taking the long route.
Resting in the shade afterward for just a few minutes, Dittman's thoughts turned to the coincidence of the opening day of the St. Albert Outdoor Farmers' Market. She hopped up, slapped her legs and exclaimed, "Let's go do the market!"
Bumping into Mayor Nolan Crouse in the crowd, he asked how she felt after the walk.
She said, "Well, Nolan, let's go do it again!" Crouse nearly choked on his hot dog.
Dittman has an indomitable spirit that helped her beat breast cancer three times. Now in robust health, she still asks for donations to breast cancer research instead of birthday presents.
She moved to St. Albert in 1979 and lived independently in the family house until just five years ago. She moved to a condo before taking up residence at the lodge in 2010 and is quite content to be there with so many of her friends.
"I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Life is a bowl of cherries."
Mary James, born Nov. 14, 1910
This grande dame has lived in the lodge for about 18 years now, making her almost an original resident. She loves the flowers and misses doing the weeding.
She does not, however, miss the mosquitoes.
Born and raised in St. Paul, she eventually settled on a homestead near Smith, keeping some heads of cattle with her husband. It was tough to make a living there so they eventually found their way to St. Albert in 1942. One of her earliest jobs was working at the old Bruin Inn. Her husband enlisted to fight in the Second World War.
"I stayed home with the children," she remembered with a sense of appreciation for when she can see them again. "My family is kind of scattered."
Well-known as an avid reader of adventure stories, she loves to keep her time and mind busy with her many friends in the facility when she isn't glued to a book. Together, they play many types of games.
"Just about everything," she stated, before qualifying it. "I don't play cards. I never bothered with cards."
Mabel Spady, born June 23, 1911
There might not be a more feisty and opinionated resident at the lodge than Mabel Spady. She admits she probably rubs some people the wrong way because she speaks her mind and never harbours a grudge.
"I say what I mean," she said.
"I've always had to be so independent of everything. My father had a large estate and I had to stand up to people. When he passed away I had to look after things. I got to the point I couldn't take it from anybody. I left word out there!"
She was born in Erskine to the hard-working Hemeyer clan. It was with a bit of luck that the family land had a bit of oil in it. While the family came into some money, that didn't stop them from working hard to make their way.
"If you live a decent, good life, you stand up for the right things, I don't care about the guy that says I didn't or doesn't agree with me. If something happens, that's it. It's all finished. I don't talk about them. They're just gone out of my life."
It's that work ethic she hoped to instil in her children and her many students.
"I taught at Rimbey, Ponoka, High River … I can't remember all of them," she laughed, emphasizing she always stayed in the province. Ask and she'll tell you how proud she is of wild rose country. "I'm an Albertan!"
She knew she was fortunate to work as a teacher as jobs were hard to come by in 1933.
"You couldn't get a school. My father had a good position and he said, 'I can't give you a school and the other kids sit there. So he sent me out to his grandfather's. That's how I got west of Ponoka … in the bush!"
