Costa Mesan celebrates 100 years

Two world wars, the Depression, Prohibition, the women’s rights and

civil rights movements, the evolution of automobiles, computers and

technology -- Elizabeth Tracy has lived through it all.

The Costa Mesa resident turned 100 on May 20 and celebrated with

her family, which consists of one son, three grandchildren and 12

great-grandchildren.

A California native, Tracy spent much of her life in Santa Barbara

and moved to Costa Mesa after retiring in 1968.

The Daily Pilot’s Lindsay Sandham recently sat down with Tracy to

hear about the amazing changes she’s witnessed and what it’s like to

live an entire century.

Did you ever think that you would make it to 100?

Never. My mother and father both lived to be 91, and I thought I’d

be doing well if I did that. I expected, really, to be gone in my

80s.

And you seem to be in really good health.

Everything, except I’ve lost my balance completely. I can’t even

stand up without holding onto something.

I don’t know why. I can’t tell you why. I’ll tell you why -- do

you know Dr. [Julian] Whittaker’s Wellness Clinic? I suppose about 10

years ago, he gave me all kinds of vitamins to take, and I’ve taken

them. I just stopped having colds and flus; I just don’t have them

anymore.

What did you do for work before retiring in the late 60s?

I was in a law firm. I did all sorts of things. I was either a

dental assistant or at a law firm.

What kind of changes have you seen in all your years in Costa

Mesa?

What amazes me is it used to be just bean fields and jackrabbits.

And even on Harbor Boulevard, you’d see a jackrabbit crossing the

street.

So your family had a big birthday party for you.

Well, they put the nicest party on for me. There were balloons,

they opened the deck and put tables out there. The kids were all over

the place, playing around either the front or the back. It was just a

lovely day and [my daughter-in-law] supplied a very beautiful cake.

They did a very good job for me.

When you were working, being a woman, were your choices more

limited than they would be today?

I just took whatever job I could find at the time. Women were

pretty much trapped -- either you’re a nurse or a teacher or

something like that. Now it’s much more open. Women weren’t even

allowed to vote when I was in high school. You would hardly think

that that’s possible now.

And you remember the Depression pretty well.

You never get over the Depression. You always feel you must eat

every bite of food. You still find yourself not being able to throw

anything away -- maybe you can use it later, maybe you will need it

later. You never outgrow that. That was 10 years of misery.

Are you just amazed, having lived through that, at the cost of

things today?

I can’t get used to what they pay for cars and houses. I just

can’t get used to it.