Barrhead woman celebrates 110th birthday
'Have faith. Tell the truth. Keep your cool.' - Words of wisdom from Jennie Sutherland
For her most recent birthday, Jennie Sutherland received letters from the premier, the prime minister and the Queen congratulating her on her Oct. 4 milestone.
At 110, Sutherland is one of Alberta's oldest residents.
Before moving to a farm near Barrhead, her parents emigrated from Norway to Minnesota in the late 1800s — and today, she still knows a few Norwegian phrases, including "gammel kjerring," a not-so-flattering term for an old woman.
"I guess you could apply that to me," she joked.
Sutherland has seen many changes since she was born in 1906 — two world wars, the Great Depression, commercial airplanes, at-home televisions, space travel, computers, the internet.
In 1920, her family arrived in northern Alberta as homesteaders. They travelled by train to Oregon, then by truck to cross the border, then rode on horseback.Then, when the horses were too tired to carry her and her sisters any further, they walked 40 kilometres from Westlock.
She remembers having a pot of boiled potatoes when they finally arrived.
"Those were best-tasting potatoes I've ever had. We sure enjoyed those potatoes!" she said.
They brought livestock, furniture and even an organ in a truck wagon to their new home.
For years, there were no roads near the farm and they had to carve notches in the trees to find their route when they would go out with the team and wagon.
Ten children lived along with her parents in a one-room house.
A few years after arriving, Sutherland had a family of her own and lived on a small farm from 1927 to 1957, until the family moved to the town of Barrhead.
She had eight children, including one daughter who died two days after she was born.
Now her grandchildren have grandchildren.
She has 26 grandchildren and a total of 129 direct descendants in five generations after her.
Getting older
Over her more than century-long life, Sutherland has noticed the changes in her health. She has arthritis in both hands and she is hard of hearing. She still can walk, but most of the time uses a wheelchair for balance.
On her birthday, she tapped her toes while her youngest son Charlie sang and played guitar. But 10 years ago, at her 100th, she danced.
She referred to losing her eyesight as "the pits," but added "when you can't see very good, you look pretty good."
Close to 300 family members attended her most recent party, but there were some noticeable absentees. Her siblings have all died. Her husband William died 29 years ago. Her oldest son Lorne died at 82 from heart failure after she turned 106.
The next generation is thrilled to have her around. Her son Charlie described her as a role model for the younger generations.
At 88, Sutherland's oldest daughter Leona Stocking is a great-great grandmother herself, but can't imagine not having her own mother nearby.
"It's great. I'm so glad she's still here," she said. "There's not many people in their 80s still have their mum around."
Corrections
- Since this story was published, CBC has been contacted by the family of woman in Calgary who celebrated her 110th birthday in August. The story has now been corrected to reflect this new information,Nov 03, 2016 2:49 PM MT