HELENA — Here in Montana, wide-open skies and tight-knit communities create more than just scenic views; they might just be part of the secret to longevity.
Tuesday, over a dozen Montanans who have crossed the 100-year mark were honored, and their stories are as rich as the land they’ve called home for a century.
(WATCH: Montana's centenarians are honored and share a century worth of stories)
“Well, it is super special, that is for sure, but to sit here, it brings tears to my eyes,” Virginia Toews, a 100-year-old born in McClusky, North Dakota, shared.
Four centenarians were able to make the trip to the Great Northern Hotel in Helena to be honored in person by Governor Gianforte and the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
But across the state, there are around 20 Montanans who are 100 or older, the oldest, 109.
Governor Ginaforte says, “They have not only witnessed history but more importantly they have actually shaped it.”
Helen Janssen will be one hundred at the end of the year, and she recalls the many changes she has seen in her lifetime.
“When I grew up, we had no telephone, no electricity, none of that, but we stayed through the Depression, and God was good,” said Janssen.
While they each have different life experiences, all the centenarians I spoke with shared similar memories, which they say were the most important of all.
Richard Blossom, a 101-year-old from Great Falls, says, “Well, when I got married, of course was one and one is when I had my two children, that is the other one.”
As for the secret to living for a century or more, Betty Stimac says, “Keeping busy and enjoying people and sleeping some.”
All the centenarians present shared lunch with their families and received certificates from the Governor and First Lady.
