When Mary Cantway celebrated her 90th birthday, the Homewood resident wasn’t sure she would be around for 10 more years and hit triple figures.
When Cantway indeed crossed the century mark, she was sure she wasn’t going to see 110.
Well, on Monday at her Homewood home, she celebrated her 110th birthday with a small party with family, friends and neighbors two days after having a larger party with roughly 100 people.
So, are we thinking 120?
“Oh, gosh, no,” she said. “I don’t expect to be around that long. I think 110 is pretty good.”
Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld was on hand to help celebrate and representatives from Pepsi and Portillo’s provided her with Gatorade Zero and ribs – her favorite food and drink — and Portillo’s even tossed in a chocolate birthday cake for good measure.
There was only one candle to blow out on the cake because, as Hofeld cracked, “If we put 110 candles on the cake, it would cause global warming.”
Hofeld said Cantway is Homewood’s oldest resident and wondered if she is the state’s oldest as well.
According to the State Journal-Register, Wenonah Bish, who lives in the Springfield area, was set to turn 112 on Wednesday and is likely the oldest in Illinois.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, there were only 310 known people in the world as of Monday who were 110 or older but Cantway was not yet on the list.
Hofeld has been at multiple birthday celebrations for Cantway over the years.
“This is a joyous occasion,” he said. “She is really sharp. Sharper than most of us. This is one of those feel-good, nice stories.”
Cantway can’t give out any secrets to her longevity, because she doesn’t have any.
“I don’t know what it is but the only thing I can tell you is that for 40 years, I joined a health club in Homewood and swam three times a week,” she said of her decades-long membership at the H-F Racquet and Fitness Club. “I also did water aerobics. So, I think that has probably kept me going for a while.
“That’s about the only thing I can think of. Otherwise I don’t remember anything. But I worked hard at that for 40 years.”
Aside from ribs and chicken, she said she is not a big meat eater and eats a lot of vegetables for her daily three meals.
The only other recommendation she has for a long life is to stay busy and to “keep in touch with people you know.”
Cantway is originally from Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, but there is a little confusion as to when she moved to Homewood. Some in her family say it was 67 years ago and she said 70 years.
Either way, she lived in the same house all of that time even though it is across the street from multiple railroad tracks.
“It was a rainy day and we were looking for a place and this was the only house they showed me,” she recalled. “I said, ‘Who wants a house across the railroad tracks?’ They said we could take it now and then move.
“Afterwards, we all got to like the house. The railroad didn’t bother us. I have lovely neighbors and it’s close to town. I’m close to the library. I was pretty fortunate.”
She was married to Elmo Cantway and raised two children and has six grandchildren and several great grandchildren.
Cantway was born in 1914 when World War I was starting, Woodrow Wilson was the president, movies were silent and women were not allowed to vote.
So many changes have occurred during her lifetime, and the biggest event that she marvels at is the world’s venture into space.
“One thing that I always thought that was spectacular was the space program,” she said. “Men going up into space – I couldn’t believe such a thing could even happen.”
When asked who her favorite president is, she said “I think (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt was brilliant and really did a good job,” she said. “I admired him a lot.”
When asked who her favorite mayor is, with Hofeld by her side, she joked, “I don’t know. Is he around somewhere?
“He’s been very good to me.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
