In 1912, William Howard Taft was president of the United States. New Mexico and Arizona were admitted as the 47th and 48th states respectively, and the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, killing more than 1,500 passengers.
These are a few of the historic events that occurred the year of Maple Ridge Assisted Living resident Alta Brodie’s birth. The Freeland woman just turned 105.
“Alta is pretty remarkable,” Maple Ridge Activity Director Amanda Markle said. “She is a spitfire and is full of life.”
Brodie celebrated her birthday with family, friends and cake Saturday afternoon. A packed room filled with nearly 50 people came to celebrate the landmark year with her, to share stories and catch up on current happenings. Although Brodie can’t see very well these days, she’s very cognizant of her surroundings and with whom she’s speaking. When relatives and friends would bring up the details of her 100th birthday celebration, she could be heard regularly interjecting, “Of course I remember that!” as if insulted by the assumption that she forgot.
Those in attendance routinely made remarks about how active Brodie tries to be on a daily basis. Her daughter, Freeland resident Marilyn Lueken, says Brodie loves the daily exercise routines Maple Ridge staff lead. She’s always up for an excursion around the island and beyond, although she’s physically limited to a walker. It’s evident she’s still full of life, and that was clear when the crowd of people joined together to sing happy birthday.
“Thank you to everyone who came,” Brodie said. “Now we’ll have to plan my 110th birthday party.”
Brodie’s family members all have their theories as to the reasons behind her lengthy life. Lueken credits the years working on her hands and knees on her farm in the Marysville area off the Pilchuck River. She spent her life homesteading fruits, vegetables and farm-raised meats that Lueken says weren’t coated in pesticides. Brodie lived on the farm from the time she was 5 years old until she was 95.
“She says she’s lived a long time because she used to milk cows on a regular basis,” Bea Randall, Brodie’s niece, said. “What makes more sense to me is her farm house always had lots of steps up to her house. But I thought her theory of milking cows was a cute answer.”
As the family member most interested in genealogy, Randall has a few other theories. She says Brodie grew up playing basketball with all the boys in school because there weren’t enough people to form a team. She would walk to and from school about two miles every day lugging sports equipment along the way. Yet, Randall says there’s something in the familial gene pool that may be behind Brodie’s many years.
“We have a gene in the family where most of us have very low cholesterol,” Randall said. “A lot of people in the family have it, and many of them have lived well into their 90s.”
If there’s any sort of general consensus about Brodie, it is that she exudes life. When she entered her party to a crowd of people awaiting her arrival, a grin was etched onto her face. She was constantly talking about the future and her next party five years from now. She jokingly outlined her goal of making it to 110-years-old, but if she gets close, she said she’ll “revise” the number.
That revision doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Until then, she’s content with enjoying the cake that she earned.
“We call her our energizer bunny,” said Dick Brantley, her nephew. “She says you have to stay active to stay alive. She just keeps going and going and going.”
Kyle Jensen / The Record — Brodie caught up with family throughout the birthday party, including her granddaughter Kay Archburn.
Kyle Jensen / The Record — All of Brodie’s surviving children celebrated her birthday by her side. Left to right: Marilyn Lueken, Dick Brantley, Del Brodie and Ralph Brodie.
