Celebrating 101 Years, Serpent River, The Standard,1995

Celebrating 101 years

SERPENT RIVER - Last year, Patrick Stonepoint celebrated 100 years of life with a limousine and over 200 guests. This year, for his 101st birthday, the party was smaller, but fitting for a man of moderation.

Surrounded by family, friends, and other residents of the Serpent River Geka Wigwam (Elder's Lodge), Patrick, dressed in his finest, enjoyed a ham and baked beans lunch, followed by cake and presents.

Lodge administrator Betty Jacobs says healthy living is very important to Patrick.

Patrick, an Ojibwa speaker, was born in 1894, and raised in Wikwemikong, on Manitoulin Island.

Jacobs says he once told her about the first time he saw an automobile. Walking down a wagon trail with a friend, the young duo were so scared by the sight of the self-moving vehicle, they jumped into the ditch.

Patrick spent most of his life at the Sagamok First Nation where he worked as a logger, married, and raised two stepsons, Gordon and Sylvester.

His niece, Saraphine Sinobert, who attended the 101st birthday party, says he's still got an excellent memory and will relate, in Ojibwa, the stories of his youth.

Throughout those years, Patrick, who's birthday coincides with St. Patrick's day, led a lifestyle of moderation. "He was a man that never drank," says Jacobs.

To this day, he loves healthy traditional native foods like wild game and scones. He also keeps a positive outlook on life.

"He's a very happy person," says Jacobs. Patrick is also in excellent shape, and has kept his sense of humour alive by making others laugh. "He's very humorous," she says. "Still looking at the girls!"

"Probably his strongest quality is his willingness to live in the present, rather than dwelling on lost loved-ones or his own lost youth.

But to see him, dignified and jovial, enjoying a well-prepared meal and speaking his language with family members, it's no surprise Patrick still feels at home in 1995.

Patrick Stonepoint celebrated his 101st birthday last week. A positive outlook and lifestyle is the key, he says.

(Photo: Marguerite Pigeon)