LAUREL Watson of Cooranbong didn't hesitate when asked how she accounted for her longevity.
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"I never see bad in anything or anybody," she said.
"Dad taught us never to hate.
"Oh, and I've always loved my walking."
And the centenarian was happy to demonstrate when she led the Lakes Mail on an impromptu tour of her home at Alton Lodge, and out into the sunny courtyard.
Mrs Watson (nee Deaves) celebrated her 100th birthday on Wednesday, November 13.
The Deaves clan is one of the pioneering families of Cooranbong, and a road in the town bears their name.
Mrs Watson is the first of five siblings born to Arthur and Elsie Deaves.
Mrs Watson said she had witnessed plenty of changes in the town.
"I had a horse when I was young, and with Dad I gathered bullocks right through there," she said, gesturing towards the Cooranbong bush.
"I look out my window now and think 'how did I do that?'."
She attended Cooranbong Public School.
She recalled, as a child, riding with her sister Madge into Morisset to go to the pictures.
Later she got a job as a telephonist at the local post office.
"I enjoyed that. I made a lot of friends through that job," she said.
She remembered the first car she rode in at Cooranbong because it belonged to her uncle Joe.
"It was a little Ford, I think, and it seated four," she said.
Lawn bowls and gardening were among her other interests.
Mrs Watson's family celebrated her birthday with a party at Wangi District Workers Club.
And that was a fitting venue, because Mrs Watson had been visiting the site long before the club was built.
"That's where we used to ride to for picnics at Christmas and Boxing Day," she said.
"Mum would lay out a blanket on the grass, then put a tablecloth over that, and we'd tie the horses up to the tree."
Mrs Watson's second husband was Donald Watson, who passed away in 2006.
She had two daughters, Relma and Dianne (both deceased) and her husband Donald had a daughter when they met, Pam, who lives in Newcastle.
She has six grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and four great great-grandchildren, with another on the way.
Her granddaughter, Joedy Wallis, said the party at Wangi Wangi was attended by about 40 family members and friends - some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Central Victoria, Young and the Gold Coast.
Alton Lodge will celebrate Mrs Watson's birthday on Thursday.
