When Violet Haight Myers was just 5 years old, she and her mother contracted typhoid fever. She survived, but the disease was fatal for her mother, Eva.

The event was a pivotal one in the young Airlie-area farm girl's life. She was the middle of five children and her family had to be split up, since her father could not care for all of the children and make a living.

"An aunt and uncle took me in, as they had three boys and always wanted a girl," Myers said. "I can still remember our family separating. Nobody talked about death in those days. I was still sick, but I put a flower in my mom's hand. The hearse was a horse and buggy."

The event forged an everlasting bond between Myers and extended family members. She went to Wells Public School in Benton County until the eighth grade, when she and a cousin drove a horse and buggy to school in Corvallis. They soon moved into an apartment in Corvallis, and her aunt and uncle followed, building a home on 11th Street.

Wells school is notable because in 1942 its property was claimed by the U.S. Army and became part of Camp Adair. The school's history is included in meticulous scrapbooks Myers has kept for decades.

In 1928, she wed mechanic Murray Myers and they moved to several communities in Oregon and California during the Great Depression. They were married 49 years. "He was a very kind man who was always good to me," Myers said. "There was never a dull moment at our house."

Before retirement, the couple owned a trailer park and managed five apartments in California. After retirement, they spent seven winters in Florida. When Murray died in 1977, Myers moved back to Albany. For the last five years, Myers has lived at Alterra Wynnwood.

Myers has witnessed a tremendous shift in lifestyle and technology during her 100 years. She remembers when the Titanic sank in 1912, when Charles Lindbergh flew nonstop from New York to Paris, the introduction of talking movies, and the stock market crash of 1929. Theodore Roosevelt was the first of 19 presidents to serve during her life.

"I feel I have been blessed," Myers said, as her great-granddaughterJoni Siefker of Albany and great-great-granddaughter namesake, Emma Violet, 8 months, played nearby. "I never worked away from home in those days, but I did everything the hard way. I washed clothes on a board and heated irons on a wood-burning stove. I made bread and canned so much stuff. We always had a big garden, so there was lots to do."

Alex Paul covers agriculture, business and forestry for the Democrat-Herald.

Violet Haight Myers

Age: 100.

Residence: Albany.

Family: Husband, Murray, deceased; son, Lehman, deceased; two grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, one great-great-granddaughter.

Organizations: South Albany Community Church, Evangelical Church.

Hobbies: Gardening, raising flowers, crocheting and sewing.

Misc.: Traveled to high school via horse and buggy.