PLATTSBURGH — Wish Irene Carpenter Fortin a happy 100th birthday today if you see her.
The Samuel S. Vilas home resident’s apartment is decorated with many photographs of her family and progeny.
“I’m going to try to get them together on my birthday,” she said.
“I have at least 26 grandkids and great-grand kids. I have lost count because there are so many, and they all don’t live around here anymore some of them. They have in-laws and all that stuff, you know.”
GREAT PARENTS
Irene was born August 31, 1924, in Plattsburgh to Michael “Mike” Alfred Carpenter and Mina Melinda (Lamontague/Lamountain) Carpenter, who were also the parents of John, Clarence, Emery, George, Lawrence and Constance “Connie.”
“They were great parents, a lot better than today’s parents,” Irene said.
“They were always there. I had a great life. My mother and father always made me take piano lessons and dancing lessons all that stuff. I don’t know how they could afford it at that time. I think of it now. I didn’t think of it then. I took it for granted. I wondered how they could do that because we had six kids.”
Irene started her education at the Plattsburgh Normal School and graduated from Plattsburgh High School.
“That was a long time ago,” she said.
“I lived on Prospect Avenue. You didn’t get a ride then. You had to walk. A lot of walking then. All kinds of weather. It was a dirt road then, Prospect Ave. I did a lot of dancing. I had a dancing teacher. My family wanted me to dance, so I did a lot of that. My brother and I did adagio. We gave shows sometimes. It was fun. I was always very close to all my brothers, and they kept track of me. I’m the second of the oldest. None of my brothers are alive and neither is my sister. She was a lot younger than me. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here because we did have a good life. “
TOOK CARE OF THE KIDS
At age 17, Irene married Henry Fortin, the son of Armand and M. Reine Laurence Longtin, at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh.
“My in-laws used to run A. Fortin & Son,” Irene said.
“My husband worked there selling oil. I took care of the kids. My husband always said, ‘I’ll do my job, and you take care of the kids,’ and that’s what I did. We were both always concerned about the kids. It’s so different today.”
Henry and Irene had six children: Henry Jr., Alys, Michael. Colin, Carol and Christina are deceased.
“You’re not supposed to lose your kids before you,” Irene said.
“At my age, you wonder why. I’ve been very healthy. I’ve been very fortunate. I just try to take care of myself and do the things that my parents expected. I just enjoyed life, and I enjoy people. I always enjoyed whatever I did. I always made a point to do it.”
Irene is a witness to many changes in Plattsburgh over the last century.
“Time goes by so fast,” she said.
“Every day runs into each other.”
‘YOU GOT TO KEEP WALKING’
There was a time when she used to crochet and embroider all the time.
“I always passed my time away doing different things,” she said.
“I do puzzles because I don’t want to get bored. I do a lot of walking. That’s my secret. You got to keep walking no matter what. You got to keep moving. I always tell everybody; you have to keep moving no matter what.”
For the past 20 years, she and four friends play cards.
“We’ve been playing hand and foot,” she said.
“It’s seven packs of cards. It’s something you don’t get bored with it because it’s not a boring game. You got to keep using your mind. Tuesdays and Thursdays, we play here. They give us a room to play in. We used to take turns going from one house to another, but since I moved here, we just play here.”
‘I ALWAYS MADE EVERYTHING’
Originally, it was Irene’s plan to age in place at her home.
“People don’t like to work today,” she said.
“I was planning on staying home and letting people come in, but you can’t plan on it because people don’t work like they used to. They won’t show up, and I can’t live like that. That’s why I’m here. I would rather be at my own home. I like to cook, and I don’t cook here. I always made everything. I was a great cook. Sliders, whenever I had sliders, I had a house full because that’s their favorite.”
Maybe sliders will be on today’s menu at her birthday party.
“I don’t know what they’re cooking up, but it’s going to be a big party someplace at the airbase,” Irene said.
“That should be nice. At first, they wanted it to be a surprise, but I’m glad it’s not. My granddaughter bought me an outfit. My closet is full, but she’s bound she’s going to buy me something. She’s always doing something special. Patti, my granddaughter.”
Irene tries to enjoy each day and try to do something special.
“I’m lucky to be so healthy I think, but I think it’s all in the way that you take care of yourself,” she said.
“I’ve been lucky. You do whatever you can do.”