Centenarian Johanna Magdalena Cornelius celebrated her milestone birthday on November 22 at her place of residence in Rynpark.
She is proud to still be independent.
Babs, as she is fondly known, celebrated her birthday with her family on November 21 and on November 22 she had a small gathering in the Rynpark Five hall.
The mother of three was born in Uniondale and jokes that she is the ghost of Uniondale.
The myth is that people stop to offer a lift to a young woman who stands alongside the road which stretches between Uniondale and Willowmore. When she accepts the offer and gets into the car, she just vanishes.
The 1920s baby said one of her most memorable birthdays was spent with her late husband who took her out for a romantic evening after getting married in 1941.
“I was born in Uniondale, and then moved to Harrismith where I completed school,” she explained.
“I then went to university for one year to study education, but decided to end my studies due to the war.”
She started to work at a butchery and pharmacy as a bookkeeper and it was during that time that she met her husband Carl on a youth camp.
She was talking to her friend on a bus and he overheard their conversation and interrupted them.
“We were playing musical chairs and he grabbed me and said now I will never leave you and he never did,” she lovingly said.
Babs boasts with six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She is very involved with her family and loves them dearly.
The Rynpark Five resident jokes about going through the stages of life from horse carts to modern technology. Her father was a blacksmith and she recalls a time without television.
“It was not an easy time going living through the war as food was little and fear was so evident,” she said.
“Very few people had cars and there was no electricity. When electricity was discovered it was like magic and not everyone had the privilege to afford it.
“The television was something ‘out of this world’.”
She added that keeping fit and healthy was important as she did light gym exercise with weights until she was 97 years old.
She then had to stop after she had a fall on the escalators but she still walks everyday with her walker.
The young at heart also keeps her mind fit with crossword puzzles and reading.
“Always be friendly, helpful towards your neighbours, live your life to the fullest and never be a burden to someone else, so be independent,” was the advice she gave to the youth.
“I am still in my own cottage that has two bedrooms. I enjoy once-a-week assistance, but otherwise I cope on my own.”
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