practical living
Evelyn Jenkins celebrates her centenary . Photo : supplied .
100 not out
Hard work key to a long life for new centenarian .
By Conor Burke
The secret to ageing well , to making
it to a grand old age , is work .
That is according to Sydney woman , and recent centenarian , Evelyn Jenkins from the Uniting Bernard Austin Lodge in Liverpool .
Hard work has been the bedrock of Evelyn ’ s life and along with never drinking or smoking , working hard has kept her going , she tells me .
“ The goal was 100 . But now we ’ ve said we ’ re going to go for 101 . Aren ’ t we ?” says Bernard Austin Lodge service manager Renee Kruger , who joins us in our conversation . “ That ’ s right . I feel good ,” Evelyn replies . Born and raised in Concord , Sydney , Evelyn had an eclectic working life which included stints chicken farming for Ingham ’ s as well as shirt making for Woolworths .
“ I spent six months of my life cutting off the threads of the shirts ,” she tells me .
I chuckle at the thought and tell her that she had two very different jobs .
“ That ’ s right , good mixture . And I loved it .”
And she was good at what she did , taking pride in her hard work . Her son Ken tells me about his mum ’ s award-winning chickens – she was the number one grower for Ingham ’ s at one stage .
“ I took part of a chicken to work . I was in the fire brigade at headquarters , 42 blokes a shift . And the chicken was about 8 or 9 lbs and the leg looked like a turkey , the
blokes at headquarters wouldn ’ t believe me it was a chicken leg ,” he says with a laugh .
On top of the obvious cache that comes along with turning 100 and the letter from the Queen ( how does the Queen always know , we ask ourselves ), staff and friends at Evelyn ’ s home threw her a surprise party . “ Oh yes , it was lovely ,” Evelyn says . “ She was the lady of the hour ,”
Renee adds .
Residents and staff spent the last month making handmade purple and gold paper flowers to decorate the room in preparation for Evelyn ’ s big day , and they set up a red-carpet welcome and a mini fashion show for her too .
Everyone chipped in , with Mike , the transport manager , playing some music for the event .
And of course , a birthday cake was had , central to any good birthday knees up , which was decorated in purple and gold , Evelyn ’ s favourite colours .
During a pandemic , when aged care homes are seeing less visitors and outside entertainment , a milestone like this can be just as important for the staff and other residents .
“ I think we ’ ve been trying to have a bit of fun all along but I think it ’ s been a very special day to look forward to ,” Renee says . “ I ’ ve been a nurse for many years . And I ’ ve been with Uniting for the past seven years . And this is the first time I ’ ve been able to celebrate someone turning 100 . And the second time in my lifetime , because I celebrated my great aunt ’ s 100th . So , it was a very special moment for everybody . It doesn ’ t happen too often .
“ Everyone doll ’ d up for the occasion . And we had the red carpet happening , and the music . And she was down on the red carpet , we had her on the catwalk . All the residents had a reason to really glam up for the day .”
And the love and care shown by the Uniting team has been very important for Evelyn ’ s family as well .
“ They really excelled themselves , we ’ ve yet to thank them properly for that ,” says Wendy , Evelyn ’ s daughter-in-law .
“ They did a wonderful , wonderful job … they put on a wonderful show .”
“ Did she tell you she beat Don Bradman ?” Wendy asks me . “ It ’ s what she ’ s been saying for the last three years ,” Ken chimes in . “ I ’ m going to beat Don Bradman ’ s score .”
The Aussie cricket great famously finished his test career with a batting average of 99.94 .
The family was also excited to celebrate the occasion as Evelyn has had a few obstacles on the way to her century .
“ It ’ s enormous actually considering some of the issues she has been through ,” says Ken .
A number of stays in hospital recently had the family concerned , but Evelyn has always “ recovered like a champion ”, says Wendy .
“ We said it ’ s all those years on the chicken farm that made her tough ,” she says . “ And she never drank , and she never smoked !”
And while work and clean living might be the key to living long , how does it feel to have hit 100 ?
“ Ah , yes . I don ’ t feel any different . I feel good , feel alive . I feel good ,” Evelyn says . ■ agedcareinsite . com . au 23