Montana Elderly Share Stories

The Associated Press

March 14, 2010

(AP Photo) Walter Breuning, 113, the world's oldest man, left, and Winnie Engellant, 103, meet at the Rainbow Retirement Community in Great Falls on March 5.  

With all the attention both of them have received in recent years in this part of the country, you’d think they’d be well acquainted.

Walter Breuning, after all, is the world’s oldest man at 113, and Edwinna “Winnie” Engellant has been in the news herself for her graceful ballroom dancing past her 103rd birthday.

But on March 5 in the lobby of the Rainbow Retirement Community in downtown Great Falls was the first time the two celebrities had ever sat down to chat.

And chat they did, about the toll that time takes on the human body, about media sensations and about technological advancements.

Both centenarians saw the integration of the automobile into society. Both drove Fords as their first vehicles, and both paid less than $500 for them. Engellant’s Ford had curtains in it. Breuning bought his used for $250.

“Cars weren’t like they are today,” Breuning said. “We had to shift gears then. Now they go 100 miles an hour.”

Both agreed that computers have caused one of the greater impacts on how people live today.

Breuning said there is too much hatred in the world. “If we could just be kind to each other...” he said.

Engellant said her mother raised her on the same type of principles. “My mother preached the 10 Commandments,” she said.

Even so, Breuning said today’s world is so much better now than it was just a few years ago, to which Engellant replied, “It’s good, but we don’t appreciate it enough.”

Remembering their youth, the two found common ground in the “good old days” when electricity and running water were either unavailable or a slick luxury, and there was no such thing as an eight-hour work day.

When Engellant asked Breuning for advice on living as long as he has, Breuning told her to keep moving, helping others and exercising.

Engellant agreed, saying that her doctor told her to keep on dancing, which has been her passion since she was about 8 years old.

“You might catch up with me,” Breuning told Engellant.

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