'I'm blessed with good health': Triple Birthday party for 3 Cape Breton centenarians

It was a triple birthday party at the Cove Guest Home in Sydney, N.S. Friday, where each guest of honour had a three-digit number of candles on their birthday cake.

"We have Mary Ann who was 100 years old in January," said Cheryl Deveaux, the CEO and administrator of the Cove Guest Home. "We have Earl, who is seven days younger than Mary Ann, he turned 100 in January. (Then) we have Tuney Rudderham, who is turning 106 years old today."

Eileen Rudderham, known to many as Tuney, earned her nickname for her lifelong passion for music. She was born on June 10, 1916.

So, what's her secret to a remarkable 106 years?

"I might not know my right hand from my left," Rudderham said with a laugh. “But I'm still on my feet. I'm blessed with good health, that's the truth."

Earl MacVicar has been a century old for several months now, but he looks years younger.

"I feel good. Yeah, I made it," MacVicar said. "There's no secret really. I worked hard as a young man. (I was) brought up on a farm (with) good food, lots to eat."

At 100 years young, MacVicar still has his driver's license. His birthday present will really come in handy given prices at the pumps these days.

"So, he'll receive $100 worth of gas today," Deveaux said.

Then, there's Mary Ann Troke. She, along with MacVicar, couldn't have typical birthday celebrations back in January because of restrictions surrounding the Omicron wave of COVID-19.

That's why the big party took place Friday. Looking back on those lockdown days, you won't hear Troke complain much.

"Where our apartment is, we could see one another," she said. “We weren't entirely alone. You could almost get together. We always had a time together."

The cove's administrator points out that these centenarians don't live in a nursing home setting. They're in assisted living at the guest home.

"They live in their own apartments where we just provide minimal assistance to them," Deveaux said. “And they're able to be fairly independent."

So, it was three cheers, for three digits, three times over.

And while it was a day more than 100 years in the making, those involved say it was worth the wait.