REDDING – What is the secret to living to 100?
How about being determined, rolling with the punches, taking naps, knowing when to keep your mouth shut, having a strong family and good genes and – of course – drinking Scotch.
These pearls of wisdom come from at least 12 people who should know. They are residents of Meadow Ridge, a continuing care retirement community on Redding Road. And they all have reached the century mark or are about to.
“Consider that in 1924, the life expectancy in the United States was 58.1 years for a man, and 61.5 years for a woman,” Meadow Ridge Executive Director Chris Barstein said at an event Wednesday celebrating the centenarians.
At a celebration of being part of or about to join the centenarian club, the Meadow Ridge administration and employees paid homage Sept. 25 to 12 residents ranging from 99 to 105 years old. They sang “Happy Birthday” with a piano player, wore corsages and shared a birthday cake.
And they shared their life stories with whoever would listen in the facility’s atrium, including advice on living a long life.
“My secret (to life) is stay out trouble and don’t talk to reporters,” said Jack Harrigan, a resident who is about to turn 100 in December.
For Bob Wylie, who turns 100 in April 2025, the secret to his long life is summed up in one word. “Scotch,” he said.
Their lives took similar paths as they fought in World War II, Harrigan in the Army and Wylie in the Air Force as a bombardier. Eventually, they wound up at Meadow Ridge as residents living there with their wives.
For Harrigan, his life journey took him to Europe where he was injured before being assigned to guard Nazi prisoners.
“Immediately following graduation from high school, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and he was treated a trip to Europe where he was shot right before the Battle of the Bulge where most of his unit was subsequently killed,” said his wife, Nancy Harrigan.
“It was in December 1944 and I was sent back to England,” Jack Harrigan said. “I recuperated and was guarding Nazi prisoners behind the lines. Our outfit was outside a prison in France for quite a while. I got to know some of the guys there.”
Jack Harrigan’s journey took him back home to Connecticut, where he worked as a manager for a large textile mill in Moosup.
“My old man put me on the roster and I spent the rest of my life chasing textiles,” he said. “They moved South in attempt to stay in business, but I didn’t go with them.”
Wylie’s stint in World War II was a bit of a family affair.
“My father was in the war,” he said. “I was in the war. We met in Italy in 1945. I hadn’t seen him for five years. I was a bombardier. We flew out of England. Over Czechoslovakia.”
A Long Island, New York, native, Wylie spent 55 years living in Greenwich with his wife, Karen, whom he has been married to for 71 years. “I was originally in New York City. I was brought up in Stony Brook, Long Island. We had a summer home there. Ultimately, when I got married we went to Chicago. Then back to New York,” he said.
He made a living working in marketing manmade fiber, working with companies like DuPont. He has lived at Meadow Ridge with Karen for eight years.
More than 3% of the 365 residents who call Meadow Ridge home have turned or about to turn 100, according to Barstein, who addressed those gathered Wednesday. Other than Harrigan and Wylie, the other residents recognized for turning 100 include: Judy Bralver, Roz Needelman, Charlotte Winter, Enid Busch, Hal Healy, Betty Jordan, Marion Wertheim, Audrey Rubin, Margaret Brion, and Mimi Smolian.
“This is an event I look forward to every year,” Barstein said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment, a feat of life. It’s like beating a sports record that has stood for decades.”
He made one final observation to the residents on Wednesday.
“One hundred years ago, Paris hosted the Olympics,” he said. “One hundred years ago, Russia and Ukraine were at war. Students in schools were using tablets. They were of slate, but they were using tablets.
“And believe it or not immigration was a divisive issue 100 years ago with the passing of the Immigration Act of 1924. It’s just amazing how many things change and how many things stay the same.”
