This month, ACC is honoring Sacramentans who are 100 years old and older. We found 22 of them. Actually, they found us. As soon as we announced “Celebrating Our Centenarians” as the theme for ACC’s 33rd Annual Care Center Fundraiser, the calls started coming in.
Imagine being born in 1919. A terrible war just ended. It was the era of silent movies, jazz, and the Ford Model T. Life was good except for the fact that the average person in the U.S. only lived to 54.
Most of the centenarians we interviewed for this issue of ACC News grew up poor, but 100 years later, they have no regrets. Their stories are amazing and quaint.
“My father used to take me to school with a horse and buggy.” says Audrey Ah Tye, aged 102, with a chuckle.
Tomako Mori, aged 100, came from a family of seven children. They lived on a 100-acre farm in Lincoln. “There was no telephone at home to call a doctor. So, her father delivered all of his children,” says Tomako’s daughter Anna Louie.
Many of the centenarians have been to ACC for skilled nursing, classes, social services, transportation, and meals. Five of them reside at ACC Care Center and ACC Greenhaven Terrace.
Chang Hou, aged 100, immigrated from Hong Kong in 1976. Shortly after, she took crochet, ceramics, and knitting classes at ACC when it operated out of a house owned by the Tambara family on V Street.
Lorraine Nagae, aged 101, enjoys Meals on Wheels by ACC once a week at the Japanese Buddhist Church.
Then there are those centenarians who make you go “wow.” Fannie and Annie Wong are 103 year old twins. Their older sister Pearl is 104.
Husband and wife Aaron and Haruye Okamoto are both centenarians. He’s 103 and she’s 101. They were married on Valentine’s Day and celebrated their 75th anniversary this year.
The centenarians we interviewed have several things in common: hard work, strong family support, and a simple view of themselves. What’s it like to be a centenarian? “I don’t know. I feel the same as when I was 90,” says Frances Jaksich. “It’s no big deal,” says Fannie Wong. Chang Hou complains that people at ACC Care Center are too old for her. What a great attitude!
There are 75,000 centenarians in the U.S. That number will grow to 600,000 by mid-century. At this rate, 40% of the residents at ACC Care Center will be centenarians. One can only imagine how big the celebration will be at the 64th Annual Care Center Fundraiser in 2050!
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