WHILE more folks are celebrating their 100th birthdays, few have marked the milestone at their home of 46 years.
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That’s exactly what Rutherglen great-grandmother Aylean Baker did on Thursday.
“I was in respite (after a hip operation last year), at Karinya (aged care) at Corowa and I felt I could cope at home and asked the family and they said as long as you get Meals on Wheels and I have and I’ve got a gardener and a cleaner and I’m able to stay at home,” Mrs Baker said.
Born the fourth of eight children, at 5.30am on January 10, 1918 in 100-degree heat, Mrs Baker wanted to be a school teacher but family poverty saw her take a job in a store at 17.
Wed in 1941, Mrs Baker and husband Ed, who died in 1997, farmed on Glenhurst, between Rutherglen and Springhurst, until 1972 when they shifted into the home she still occupies.
With a mother who lived until 102, genetics have played a part in Mrs Baker’s longevity, although she cited another factor.
“We grew most of our own vegies, I think that might have a lot to do with it,” she said.
“I’m not happy about the young ones on a lot of processed food.”
Mrs Baker, who was a top player and foundation member of the Rutherglen Bowls Club in 1952, keeps her mind agile with sudoku.
Asked about today’s world she said: “I’m not happy with the electronics the way they’re going, everyone’s got no privacy.”
But Mrs Baker became a Facebook member last year with her great granddaughter Bonnie Baker signing her up to see debutante photos.
A family 100th birthday celebration dinner will be held on Friday night.