100 years?

How often does it happen you go to a party where it celebrates someone’s 100th birthday? One hundred. Mon Dieu!

Helen Crane and her family sailed from Glasgow, Scotland in 1929 aboard the Canadian Pacific steamship, Minnedosa. They arrived in Montreal during the annual Santa Claus parade to face a depressing depression.

They would settle in Woodbridge, Ontario and opened Crane Hardware on the main street. It remained there for many years.

Helen wore a three-piece blue cotton outfit for this celebration looking all but half her age. She sat with a glass of sparkling wine openly enjoining such a gathering of close friends and family.

Joan Crane, her daughter, began to arrange this special event a year earlier. The date was firmly set when Helen plied Joan many times with “When is my farewell party?”

“It’s not your farewell party, mother,” Joan told her. “We’re toasting your 100th birthday.”

It became a ‘Celebration of Life” which included Steve Turner, aka the Wedding Piper, who guided the party through the afternoon and into the evening with songs and a dash of humor.

Author’s comment: What helps someone reaching the ripe old age of 100? Experts tell us having a ‘sheer streak of stubbornness, resilience’ and ‘a profound adapting to change’.