Joan Curtain blew out the candles on her 100th birthday cake on Sunday.
Curtain was born Emma Edith Townsend on April 20, 1911, in Weyburn, Sask. She grew up in the town of Ogema, Sask. - which was founded in 1912.
Her parents operated a movie theater in the prairie town.
"There was a player piano for the silent films," Curtain said. "I played the player piano for the shows."
She developed a lifelong love of the piano - especially ragtime and dance music.
Her family later moved to Regina when her father got a job there.
Curtain also had a love of the outdoors and animals, and worked as a camp cook before settling in Finlay Forks, B.C. with her husband.
"Out at Finlay Forks I had a trap line out there, with my husband," she said.
Finlay Forks, located at the confluence of the Finlay and Parsnip creeks, was flooded by the construction of the Williston Lake in 1968.
Curtain was married twice, and continues to use her second husband's last name, but had no children.
She moved to McLeod Lake in the early 1970s. She worked at the Prince George Hotel for 20 years at the front desk, which is where she met her second husband.
"We ran a tight ship," she said.
In 1989, at the age of 78, she moved into Prince George because chopping wood for heat and cooking was becoming too much for her to do alone. She currently lives in Simon Fraser Lodge where she continues to enjoy the outdoors and be active.
"I've had a good life," she said.
