Candor resident celebrates 102nd birthday on March 12

Candor, N.Y. resident, Elvina Bastain, will celebrate an extra-special birthday on Thursday, March 12. Born in 1913, Elvina is turning 102 years old.

Born in the year when Henry Ford introduced moving assembly lines, the women’s suffrage movement gained momentum, Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President of the U.S., Civil War veterans gathered for the “Great Reunion of 1913,” and the first prize was inserted into a Cracker Jack box, Elvina has witnessed significant change and noteworthy history during her century plus two years of life.

Elvina, the oldest member of a five-generation family, is mother to two daughters and nine grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and ten great-great grandchildren. Her husband, Clifford, passed away in the early 1980’s and two of her grandchildren have also passed away.

Elvina, whose maiden name is Cart, shared that ancestors, including her great-grandmother, came to the U.S. from Switzerland about 1798.

Born in Van Etten, N.Y., Elvina grew up with one sister, one brother and two half-sisters. She attended school in Van Etten and another in Hickstown, which was near Waverly, finishing through the 11th grade. The Cart children either walked to school or rode by horse and surrey in the summer or horse and sleigh in the winter, driven by her father and horse named Sunshine.

Games at home for the children included hopscotch, swings, ball and the teeter totter, and in winter the children took advantage of snow by sledding, building snow forts and snowmen, along with an occasional broken window from snowballs.

Elvina and her family would often visit her grandmother who lived “back in the country.” During winter, Elvina’s mother heated two soap stones for the trip, one for the adults and one for the children. Typically on a wire handle, they were wrapped in blankets and placed so that feet could stay warm during the long sleigh ride. Her parents did not own a car in the early days.

Elvina’s father worked for various farmers and other businesses, including what was once a broom factory in Van Etten. Her mother prepared meat for meals on Sundays and usually one other day during the week, and time was also spent making childhood treats like fudge, cookies and popcorn balls. “We were very happy with what we had,” Elvina said.

During wartime, much of the meat, peanut butter and other essentials were sent to soldiers. Elvina commented, “No one complained.”

A story about a relative returning stateside after having served overseas during World War I ended tragically. The war veteran was robbed and killed for a small of amount of money he had on his person, money that was given to him to get started on a new life back home.

Today, Elvina shared that electricity, running water and telephones are all conveniences she enjoys. Growing up, water came from a well, which they pumped by hand, and it often froze in the winter.

Elvina remembers a horrific train wreck in Van Etten. No passengers or others near the tracks were hurt, but a collie dog from the train wandered to their home. After placing posters around the area, no one claimed the friendly dog, so Shep became part of Elvina’s family.

Outside the home, Elvina worked at Morse Chain in Ithaca, N.Y. for about 27 years, and retired in 1978. She and Clifford owned a farm on Straights Corners Road and she still stays there occasionally when the weather is warmer.

Recommendations Elvina has for others asking about how to live to be 100 and older are; not to smoke and not to drink alcohol, and to eat slowly and in small portions. As far as she knows there is no other ancestor who has lived to be 100, although her mother lived to age 94. Elvina also suggests, “Keep a good hairdresser.” Elvina’s niece by marriage, MaryAnn VanBurger, retired from The Hair Affair, still fixes Elvina’s hair some forty years later.

Elvina has experienced overall good health, only visiting a doctor every six months for high blood pressure medication. She did have one hospital visit in the 1950’s, broke her wrist in the 1990’s, and after a little convincing in 2009 went to a doctor to learn that pain she had been suffering was actually from a fractured pelvis, which ended up healing on its own.

At 102, Elvina still signs her own name on checks and other documents, yet gave up driving a car at age 93. Her eyesight and hearing have declined, however she still reads the newspaper every morning.

No big birthday bash is planned, however Elvina has requested ham dumplings with mashed potatoes, butternut squash and a pineapple pie for the occasion. Her great-granddaughter, Tonya Eiklor shared, “She would be content just staying home and watching her favorite John Wayne movies.”