Woman Reaches 100th Birthday, Joined by Her 102 and 104-Year-Old Sisters for Celebration
Do you believe you’ll reach the age of 100? Frances Kompus, a Virginia resident, recently turned 100 and celebrated alongside her elder siblings. Yes, ELDER sisters. This made the occasion all the more special for her.
But Frances was not alone in celebrating her centennial birthday; she shared it with her sisters Julia Kopriva, aged 104, and Lucy Pochop, aged 102. Growing up on Kansas farms in the early 1900s, their relationship evolved significantly over the years. Florian William Holub was born in 1917, while Frances Rose Chleborad Holub gave birth to Lucy Pochop in 1919 and Julia Kopriva in 1920.
Reflecting on her childhood, Kompus shared, “It was good on the farm. I had a few geese to play with and even had some roosters I made pets.” During those days, girls typically wore dresses while working on the farm since pants were uncommon. Pochop reminisced, “I just remember how we used to walk to school. It was about a mile and three-quarters. It was a long walk.”
Kompus added, “We’d cross the pasture, we would walk, and then on the way back, we would stop at the creek and catch frogs, put them in our pockets.” Kopriva recalled their farming days, “What I remember well is my father didn’t have modern tractors. We took gas, gasoline out in the field in five-gallon buckets.”
These remarkable ladies have witnessed numerous historical events in their lifetimes, from the Great Depression to the Dust Bowl. Kopriva expressed, “It was dark sometimes. The teachers would call the parents, and, you know, to come and get us from school. Then, we had old homes, and at the bottom, my mother would always put wet towels so the dirt wouldn’t be so bad to come in. The younger generation don’t believe what we did went through. We work today, but we worked harder those days.”
According to them, life has improved since their youth. Pochop noted, “We have got refrigerators and deep freezers. We didn’t have that those days.”
Recalling their childhood, when hunger was a significant concern, they shared how they made most of their home-cooked meals at that time. Kopriva said, “We always had homemade bread, just plain potatoes, and gravy and meat. With those cookstoves, that was hard to bake. The temperature was hard to keep. Even if it didn’t come out good, we still ate it .”
Indeed, they didn’t have gourmet or processed foods, but they enjoyed wholesome meals, possibly contributing to their longevity.
Each of these remarkable women imparts words of wisdom to future generations.
Kopriva advised, “And pray and try to stay out of mischief. I think faith comes first and thank your parents, and grandparents.”
Kompus suggested, “I would tell them to walk a lot.”
Frances Kompus of Atwood celebrated her centenary at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a place where she and her sisters were baptized, confirmed, and married.