Troy woman celebrates her 100th birthday
Betty Peterson turned 100 years old Monday, May 8. (John Blodgett/The Western News)
A premature infant born in rural Anatone, Washington in 1917, whose mother died in childbirth, Betty Peterson seemed at the time to have low odds of thriving, weighing only 3 lbs.
“She was put in a shoe box by the wood stove to keep warm,” said daughter Judith Nielson.
But celebrating her 100th birthday on Monday, May 8, Peterson appeared to be in good health and spirits after enjoying a big weekend of celebrations with friends and family in Troy, where she has lived her entire life after being brought there as an infant by Aunt Lena Rives.
Peterson laughed when asked how she has come to live so long.
“I’ve done nothing!” she said. “I don’t smoke, and I walk everywhere.”
Peterson’s family has a history of longevity; Aunt Lena, who raised Peterson as well her grandmother, lived to be 103.