Celebrating a century

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Published on Monday, December 4, 2017

By Sheila Runions

Rivers Banner

Recent Statistics Canada data shows a 41.3 per cent increase in five years (2011-16) of those who are aged 100 or more; women outnumber men five to one. Between August 2016-June 2017, Rivers Banner reported on five women who celebrated their century birthday (one now deceased) and just three weeks ago, we informed you of a man who turned 100. Last week another man with Rivers connections has reached this milestone.

Arthur Alfred Hartle was born Nov. 25, 1917 in Derbyshire, England to Samuel and Sarah Hartle. He was the oldest of two children, his younger sibling being a sister. Because his birth was when The First World War was waging, his parents told him German Zeppelin aircraft were flying overhead when he was born, but that statement has never been verified. When he completed school at Grade 8, he continued his work on the family farm, something he started years earlier. During the Second World War years, Art served his country by enlisting in the army as a home guard, to prepare the defence of Britain should Germany invade. When the war ended, he went back to farming.

In 1948, Art emigrated to Canada; his occupation was in a logging camp in Ontario. After some time in that province, he moved to Manitoba to fill the position of hired hand for Ernie Mitchell, who lived north of Douglas. It was while working for Ernie that he met Mary Pearce, a widowed war bride with two children; they were married on Dec. 9, 1953. Following their wedding, the family moved into Brandon where Art worked for Porteous Manufacturing building and installing furnaces.

In 1965, the family, which had now grown to include a third child, moved to a farm four miles south of Wheatland on the west side of Little Saskatchewan River valley. They farmed those 960 acres (grain and pasture to support cattle) until 1987 when it was time to retire; Art and Mary then moved into Rivers. Mary passed away on May 20, 1995. Art remained in the house on the 400 block of Sixth Avenue until September 2012 when failing health necessitated a move to Brandon. He has now been a resident of Hillcrest Personal Care Home for nearly five years. Despite living in Brandon since age 95, youngest son Jim continued to bring him to Rivers nearly every Sunday for the next two-plus years to attend his home church — Rivers United. Jim also regularly drove Art to Rivers for golf games. It was a sport Art started playing in his retirement and he was very proud that he still golfed at age 97.

On Saturday, Nov. 25 his family planned a birthday party at Hillcrest, which was attended by all three children: Jim in Brandon, Les in Medicine Hat, Alta. and Pat in Chilliwack, B.C. Art has six grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. The low-key affair was attended by less than 20 friends and family, all of whom enjoyed Art’s favourite dessert — raisin pie!

He was grateful for the “many personal and written greetings he received,” says son Les. Art is “fairly well physically, but cognitively he has failed in the last three months,” says son Jim.