Reflections on Living 100 Years: Old Age is Not for Sissies!
Ruth Peterson has lived at Pennswood Village for 30 years now, having moved there when she and her beloved husband of 75 years, Charlie, were young enough to enjoy their retirement.
Newtown Meeting Friend Barbara Simmons recently visited Ruth and tells the following story:
Ruth Peterson is a lively, thoughtful, engaging host – belying the stereotype we might have of someone turning 100 years old. I arrive at Ruth’s apartment at the retirement community of Pennswood Village to find her painting, a bright light shines over the palette of colors. “Old age is not for sissies!” she says as she welcomes me to find a place to sit for our visit, after giving me a big hug. (Ruth is a self-proclaimed hugger).
Ruth was born on July 13, 1924, in Sheridan, Wyoming, the first state to give women the right to vote. Her mother became one of the first women who voted in the United States, and she kept a diary of this hard-fought right. Her mother was an activist and part of a group that had a vision and mission of giving everyone who reaches the age of 65 a bit of money so they could retire and let the next generation take over. She went to the State Assembly with this message, wearing a pioneer dress with dollar bills pinned to it.
Ruth, born into that activism, carried it into her life. As a mother of four children, Ruth would take her children into the voting booth at their local fire department. Her son still remembers that, and he is very active canvasing to make sure people vote.
Ruth’s legacy has been making sure everyone registers to vote. Whether she is at a Quaker Meeting or greeting new residents at Pennswood Village, she gets them registered to vote in Pennsylvania. If they are already registered, she makes sure their kids or grandkids of college-age are registered. Of the 400 residents at Pennswood, only 6 are not registered to vote.
I ask a question we all want to understand about how one lives to be 100 with good mental and physical health. Ruth lists a few things she believes contributed to her longevity: square dancing has kept her balance and thinking on her feet; she sees a chiropractor regularly, and she always has a project. “Keeping busy and having a positive attitude helps! I believe in having an Attitude of Gratitude!”
I asked Ruth what wisdom she could share as we navigate these divided and difficult times we live in. “This election is the most important in my lifetime! We share a planet with a lot of people who don’t really follow the details of selecting their leaders. Some don’t feel this is important and if ‘I can’t vote for that one, then I won’t vote at all.’
The thing that is most important is your freedom, so vote with that in mind. You are making a decision that will impact you for years to come. If you don’t vote at all, you are helping elect someone, perhaps the wrong candidate.” Christian Nationalism is something that worries Ruth, so she makes sure she talks to people about the importance of voting for a leader that is kind, compassionate and knowledgeable – and she is so grateful for the mail-in ballot!
I asked Ruth ‘what has been her guide or north star in life?’ The conversation focused on her spiritual journey. She first attended Falls Friends Meeting, but then moved to Hatboro where they attended a Baptist Church. She found that many ‘talked the talk but did not walk the walk.’ One day, she went down to Abington Friends Meeting, entered through a side door and sat in the back. She had tears in her eyes as she felt she found ‘home’. She and Charlie became members for 50 years, until she gave up driving. She now attends Newtown Friends Meeting, where she can get a ride each week.
“The thing that is most important is your freedom, so vote with that in mind.”
For our last question, I wanted to know how Ruth ‘found her voice.’ “I discovered who I was in therapy. Men had always been the important ones. I was raised in a man’s culture.” She found her ‘wings’ and wanted to do something with it. Thus began a new life of social activism combining her long-time commitment to getting out the vote and walking the walk of Quaker values, the belief that there is the Divine light in everyone.
This belief has blessed so many who have been touched by her kindness. Her life challenges all of us to seek to make a difference.
Photography by Kati Sowiak