Maritime family getting ready to celebrate second centenarian sister

It’s not often a family gets to celebrate a centenarian, let alone two, but that’s what one Maritime family is getting ready to do.

Ferne Edgecombe, of Stratford, P.E.I., is getting ready for her 100th birthday in just over a month.

She’ll be celebrating it with her two sisters, Violet Oicle, of Cole Harbour, N.S., and Myrtle Fitzpatrick, of Charlottetown.

Violet marked her 100th birthday in 2020, and Myrtle isn’t far behind, set to celebrate hers in four years.

The sisters are originally from Dartmouth, N.S., and Ferne recalls growing up in Nova Scotia.

“Where I grew up in Dartmouth, the Halifax Harbour was just a five-minute walk away,” said Ferne. “We would go down to the water and swim there and it was just great.”

The sisters have had more time together than many do and Ferne says that’s shaped their relationship over the years.

“I enjoyed our relationship,” said Ferne. “Because I felt we never were really very far apart, in distance or in friendship.”

Ferne went to school with her older sister, Violet, and remembers the two of them working nearby as young women.

"Even when we worked in Halifax, she and I would have the same lunch hour and would go shopping,” said Ferne. “Enjoy the time."

The three sisters all still live in their homes -- in Stratford, Charlottetown and Cole Harbour.

Ferne’s birthday is Jan. 12 and she’s planning to have her two sisters over for the party.

When asked what the secret is to such a long life, Violet had some advice for her sister.

“Staying active, because if you don’t use it, you lose it,” said Violet, the oldest sister of the three. “So, I stay as active as I can.”

Violet takes her own advice, making her own meals and doing her own laundry.

However, she does have one preference when it comes to staying active.

“I just hope I stay well enough so I can keep on canoeing,” said Violet. “[I] paddle that canoe all over the lake and it’s great.”