Utah celebrates 152 residents who’ve lived a century and beyond

Kathryn Apperson saw the first models for the future faces of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial while visiting a friend’s neighboring farm.

Ruth McMillan Richins Brown remembers not having indoor plumbing until age 13.

Frances Mitchell's family only had one horse to ride, so she and her eight siblings often walked; the first car the family owned her father drove into a ditch.

Apperson, Brown and Mitchell are a part of what Utah Gov. Spencer Cox calls a "very exclusive club" — the Governor's Century Club of Utah. Each has lived 100 years or more, with some living through two global pandemics, the Civil Rights Movement, the first Winter Olympics ever — held in France 1924 — and World War II.

“We are honored to be with you and pay tribute to all of you for what you have done to make our state and our world a better place. We know how resilient you are, not everyone makes it to this very exclusive club,” Cox said Wednesday at the 36th Annual Centenarian Celebration held this year in West Jordan.

"Let's be honest, you've seen some things in your lifetime. We have this kind of recency bias. We always think that everything is the worst or the best that it's ever been. And you know much better than the rest of us how tough times can be and how great times can be, as well," he continued.

The first celebration was held in 1987 at the Governor's Mansion, with 32 Utahns over the age of 100 attending. Since then, the number of attendees has fluctuated, with attendees nearly doubling in 2017 at 58.

Utah's oldest person in Utah's Governor's Century Club of Utah history was Joe Begay, a Native American living on the reservation near Bluff, San Juan County, born in 1886. Begay died in 2001, months before his 116th birthday. At 112, he recalled that relatives had to "take away his car keys by refusing to let him continue to ride his horse."

Currently, there are 152 centenarians throughout Utah, the oldest being Betty Mendoza at 112 years old.

The oldest present at Wednesday's event was Frances Mitchell, 108. She was among those who traveled the furthest, from Monroe to West Jordan, for the event. Mitchell was present with two of her three daughters, Theresa and Bridget. The governor and first lady Abby Cox had lunch with the three women before greeting several others around the room.

Once the governor had left, Mitchell remarked, "I like the governor and his wife. I'd be bored to death as governor."

Mitchell said she lived alone in an apartment until she was 105 and her daughters moved her in with one of them. She enjoyed her independence. Laughing, she said, “It was tough to get me out of there,” but added that you just have to “accept life as it comes to you.”

This unique group has lived through a lot of history, and they remember it well.

Victoria Bartlett was born in 1914, in Helper. She was one of seven children born to Joseph and Angelina Simonetti. Her mom, dad and older sister came across the ocean from Italy and were processed through Ellis Island.

Kathryn Apperson remembered being a part of a Scout troop where President Herbert Hoover’s wife presented her with her horseman badge. She recalled her senior year of high school being “torn apart by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Many of the seniors had joined the services, were wounded or lost their lives.”

Apperson later met her husband, who served at Lockheed on P-38 wings where "their dates were filled with arc lights focusing on any plane overhead which might be a threat of an enemy bomber."

Many lived through the Great Depression, recalling the sacrifices they made to help their family survive. Ralph Porter Frandsen started working summers at age 12 to help his family's income. He started by picking beans and fruit at 50 to 60 cents per day. When he was 16 years old, he began delivering milk at 4:30 a.m. before heading to school at 8 a.m.

"Our centenarians have their own fascinating stories to tell about their more than 100 years of amazing experiences. I figure with a group of 50 centenarians here, they have over 5,000 years experience in the room," said Nels Holmgren, Utah Division of Aging and Adult Services director.

Mitchell offers the following to a long life: "I used to walk to school miles and miles. That's one of the reasons — you want to be outdoors where you can run and be happy," she said.

When asked for further advice she joked, "You have a bit of an edge. Your mind is sharp, and mine is a little dull now, but I don't care. I just say, 'Whoopee, let's go!'"

But ultimately she offered, “You end up getting more than you give. Give yourself some time and give yourself a chance. Some people just rush through life and you grow up and it’s gone.”