On January 24, Margaret Wilson celebrated her 100th birthday. Margaret grew up in Ohio and moved to Houston in 6th grade. She married Sam Wilson in 1945, and moved to Spring Valley in 1954, where she has lived since. Margaret, along with the help of her niece Suzanne Kircher, gave us the inside scoop to what it’s like to be 100.
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in Spring Valley? Not much has changed except when homes are torn down and built into large 2 stories. My house backs up to a creek, where there used to be animals roaming around, but it has become more concrete.
What do you want for your 100th birthday?
I guess it would be to keep continuing to live the life I have. But I’m already so happy, I have everything.
What’s your secret to living to 100?
Always being happy and loving everyone. I also keep my mind active by reading a lot, solving crossword puzzles, or doing sudoko. It passes the time in a calm way.
What is your typical day like? I wake up and have my coffee every morning. I have a very large window that looks out onto my wooded back yard. When I eat breakfast, it doesn’t even feel like I live in the city. It’s very peaceful.
Do you have advice for your younger self?
Nothing, I love the way my life has planned out. I have so many loving people that are around me and take care of me. I can’t express my gratitude for that.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve done? Anything you’d still like to do?
I covered all 50 states in the US. My favorite was Colorado because of the temperature and the scenery. But I did love Hawaii. I wish I got to travel more in Europe because there’s so much more over there that I’d love to explore.
How are your social media skills?
*laughs* I have a flip phone. No computer. My husband used to say ”the most up to date we were is that we had caller ID”. I only use my flip phone to call my family. I used to have the caller ID displays before they already appeared on the phone. I think I still have it somewhere.
What is one of your favorite memories?
That’s really hard. It might be my 25th anniversary trip to Hawaii. We went to all 4 islands. We went to this show, and they asked for someone to come up. They motioned to Sam, and the grandmother put her hand underneath his arms and lifted him up. I remember his feet flew up! It was funny.
