We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Virginia Olson, seated in photo, is flanked by her son, Merle Oson, and daughter Mary Lou Butcher. Virginia and her two children, plus other family members, were in Helena where Virginia was one of five Montana centenarians honored at a luncheon during the recent Governor's Conference on Aging. Virginia Olson will be 102 on October 10. She was born in Wales, North Dakota in 1921. She and her husband, Walter, farmed in the Warrick area in the Bear Paws, south of Havre.
Virginia Olson was back in Chinook from Great Falls after attending the annual Montana Governor's Conference on Aging. The event brings health care providers and caregivers together from across the state to discuss issues facing aging populations especially in a sparsely populated state like Montana.
Organizers of the conference identified 35 Montanans who were at least one hundred years old and would be honored during the conference. Five of those invited, including Virginia Olson from Blaine County, were able to make the trip to Great Falls for the annual luncheon. Virginia will be 102 about the time readers open this copy of the "Journal" (her birthday is October 10). I caught up with Virginia at the Chinook Senior Center where she had just finished participating in the Thursday afternoon Bingo event.
During the luncheon in Helena a family member of each of the five honored centenarians read a short biography about their honoree. Virginia's family noted she was born on a farm in Wales, North Dakota, less than ten miles south of the international border with Canada. During World War II she was able to secure a job in the shipyards at Portland, making her an official "Rosie the Riveter." At a dance In Portland, Oregon Virginia met her husband Walter Olson. They married after his return from the war. They moved to Walter's family farm in Warrick, south of Havre in the Bear Paws. Walter and Virginia raised four children there.
Each of the honorees was asked what was important to their achieving a long life. Virginia's response was, "Good clean living, I guess." That's the statement she made on a local live TV news show later the night of the luncheon. In her written response she also attributed her long life to, "....wholesome garden foods and Montana beef."
Virginia still regularly attends the Chinook Senior Center on Thursdays for lunch, visiting with friends and playing Bingo." Asked about her two-day stint as a celebrity at the aging conference she said, "I was so tired when I got home I couldn't finish my hamburger for supper." For a woman who thrived on wholesome foods and credits her longevity in part to Montana beef, that's being really tired.
The "Journal" wishes Virginia many more opportunities to attend the annual Montana Governor's Aging Conference as an honored centenarian.
