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Henry Hansen picks grapes in his backyard in Green recently. Hansen celebrated his 100th birthday on Sept. 5.
Henry Hansen walked through his garden in a gait typical of his age.
His cane moved before his legs. His eyes scanned the ground before his cane.
Once every couple of steps, he stopped to enjoy a cherry tomato, a blackberry or a couple of lime-green grapes.
It was apparent in his laugh and his slow and steady pace that Hansen was enjoying the world in a way only someone who has lived a century can: with gentle appreciation for each day.
He makes time to stop and smell the roses. His happiness is measured in the day-old bread crumbs he feeds the birds, the National Geographics he reads, the stories of fishing and hunting he shares with strangers.
Hansen celebrated his 100th birthday on Sept. 5.
At his party at River Forks Park and with more than 150 friends and family members in attendance, Hansen was the oldest guest; his great-granddaughter was the youngest by 99 years.
“I can't tell the difference,” Hansen said of turning another year older. “I don't feel like it.”
His daughter Billie Mabbutt sat at the other end of the table from her father during a recent morning interview. She joked that her father was starting over.
“He's a year old,” she said laughing.
Hansen was born in 1909 in Toledo. His family's homestead sat above Siletz and at 6 years old, he was out trapping for furs with his American Indian playmates.
Usually, he got to keep half the money. Later, though, when he started building roads in Lincoln County at age 15, his 50-cent wages went to his father to help support his siblings. Hansen was the oldest of seven kids.
His spirited accounts of childhood memories were spilled onto the table in abrupt sentences and phrases as he and his daughter tried to recall specific dates and places for particular life events.
At age 18, Hansen worked in a mill, leaving behind two fingers before he and his two brothers started their own logging company on the Oregon Coast.
Hansen's own father was a logger. His mother and father immigrated from Norway and spoke Norwegian until Hansen and his siblings taught them English.
Even today, Hansen's vocabulary is riddled with Norwegian phrases that he repeats to his family, such as “jeg elsker deg,” which translates to “I love you.”
Hansen retired in 1975 and has lived in the same house in Green for more than 40 years. He's been married three times and has a total of six children and “oodles” of grandchildren, he said. His wife, Helen, died in 2005.
He's always been a hunting and fishing enthusiast, activities he still does to this day. He and Mabbutt take weekly trips to the coast. He still drives and does all his own shopping.
There are a couple of secrets to Hansen's longevity, perhaps. His healthy diet of vegetables and fish may be contributors. The fact that he considers coffee a poison may be another. He only drinks warm water and he's never been a smoker. He took one puff off a cigar as a kid and that was the end of that, he said.
However, Hansen's daughter said it's his happy-go-lucky personality that keeps him going.
“He doesn't worry about a thing,” she said. “Nothing bothers him.”
“I feel good,” he added with a smile, popping another grape into his mouth. “I just keep it going every day.”
• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at cpallone@nrtoday.com.
His cane moved before his legs. His eyes scanned the ground before his cane.
Once every couple of steps, he stopped to enjoy a cherry tomato, a blackberry or a couple of lime-green grapes.
It was apparent in his laugh and his slow and steady pace that Hansen was enjoying the world in a way only someone who has lived a century can: with gentle appreciation for each day.
He makes time to stop and smell the roses. His happiness is measured in the day-old bread crumbs he feeds the birds, the National Geographics he reads, the stories of fishing and hunting he shares with strangers.
Hansen celebrated his 100th birthday on Sept. 5.
At his party at River Forks Park and with more than 150 friends and family members in attendance, Hansen was the oldest guest; his great-granddaughter was the youngest by 99 years.
“I can't tell the difference,” Hansen said of turning another year older. “I don't feel like it.”
His daughter Billie Mabbutt sat at the other end of the table from her father during a recent morning interview. She joked that her father was starting over.
“He's a year old,” she said laughing.
Hansen was born in 1909 in Toledo. His family's homestead sat above Siletz and at 6 years old, he was out trapping for furs with his American Indian playmates.
Usually, he got to keep half the money. Later, though, when he started building roads in Lincoln County at age 15, his 50-cent wages went to his father to help support his siblings. Hansen was the oldest of seven kids.
His spirited accounts of childhood memories were spilled onto the table in abrupt sentences and phrases as he and his daughter tried to recall specific dates and places for particular life events.
At age 18, Hansen worked in a mill, leaving behind two fingers before he and his two brothers started their own logging company on the Oregon Coast.
Hansen's own father was a logger. His mother and father immigrated from Norway and spoke Norwegian until Hansen and his siblings taught them English.
Even today, Hansen's vocabulary is riddled with Norwegian phrases that he repeats to his family, such as “jeg elsker deg,” which translates to “I love you.”
Hansen retired in 1975 and has lived in the same house in Green for more than 40 years. He's been married three times and has a total of six children and “oodles” of grandchildren, he said. His wife, Helen, died in 2005.
He's always been a hunting and fishing enthusiast, activities he still does to this day. He and Mabbutt take weekly trips to the coast. He still drives and does all his own shopping.
There are a couple of secrets to Hansen's longevity, perhaps. His healthy diet of vegetables and fish may be contributors. The fact that he considers coffee a poison may be another. He only drinks warm water and he's never been a smoker. He took one puff off a cigar as a kid and that was the end of that, he said.
However, Hansen's daughter said it's his happy-go-lucky personality that keeps him going.
“He doesn't worry about a thing,” she said. “Nothing bothers him.”
“I feel good,” he added with a smile, popping another grape into his mouth. “I just keep it going every day.”
• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at cpallone@nrtoday.com.
