Looking Back on 100 Years

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake summer resident Elizabeth Moody's birthday was a pretty big deal this year – on May 21st she turned 100 years old. Elizabeth is far from the stereotypical grey-haired, feeble, little old lady in a wheelchair struggling through a fog of dementia to grasp what's going on around her. The use of a walker and a daily afternoon nap are concessions to her body's ageing, but her mind is still sharp and so is her memory -- and her hair has retained its natural chestnut-brown color.

Elizabeth's permanent residence is in Yuma, Ariz. but Seeley Lake draws her back each summer. Asked why, she replied, "This area is so beautiful. I just love the forest here."

It was her husband Bob who introduced her to Seeley Lake. Though she met her future husband when they both worked as lab assistants in the botany department at the University of Arizona, Bob had grown up in St. Ignatius, Mont. and had wonderful memories of attending Boy Scout Camp at Camp Paxson in Seeley Lake.

Bob and Elizabeth were married in Tucson, Ariz. in 1940. A few years later they bought a small farm in the Yuma Valley where they raised their five children. All the children, and the parents too, were very active in 4-H.

They farmed there for 15 years and Elizabeth said, "We loved the farm, we just really did. Then two years in a row the price of cattle went down and we couldn't get refinanced."

To pay their bills, they had to sell their farm. Bob went to work for the Bureau of Reclamation and Elizabeth began what turned into a fifteen-year career at Fourth Avenue Junior High where she taught eighth-grade science.

Elizabeth said, "I really enjoyed that but I really worked hard to keep ahead of those youngsters."

The whole Moody family had always enjoyed camping during the summer. When Bob retired he told his wife, "I'm going to take you to the most beautiful place I know." That place was Seeley Lake.

Elizabeth loved it as much as Bob did and they began returning to the area to camp year after year. Bob had relatives in the region and the Elizabeth's quickly established new friendships.

In 1980 the Moodys bought an unfinished cabin in Seeley Lake. It came with an outhouse but the first thing they did was hire a contractor to install a bathroom. Meanwhile the two of them set about paneling the interior with tongue-and-groove knotty pine. A couple of years later they added a bedroom and a few years after that a dining room which they dubbed "the Montana room."

Describing those idyllic summer days of living together in the cabin, Elizabeth said, "What we used to do before I got so old... We loved it up here and we'd go huckleberry picking with friends. We were just summer tourists and picnickers. After Bob died [in 2000], that's when it changed. I started coming to Senior Citizens [lunch]. And that's been a blessing, to have the Senior Citizens Center. It's a nice place to come and the people are friendly."

Now, at age 100, though Elizabeth lives alone in the cabin, she relies on Seeley Lake caretaker Janet Whitesell to drive her places and help with chores. Elizabeth's five children, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren also play a very supportive role in her life both in Yuma and in taking turns driving her to and from her Seeley Lake cabin.

A lot has happened in the last 100 years. Elizabeth named World War II and the Great Depression as events she particularly felt "had an enormous impact on people." She recalled that she was living with her family in Miami, Ariz., a copper mining town, when the Depression hit. She said the whole town collapsed. The mines closed and the banks did too.

Elizabeth recounted, "People who could leave, left. Those who couldn't leave went on relief. It just about killed some of our friends, because they just didn't want to go on relief. They were too proud, you know."

Elizabeth herself was in high school when the Depression hit. She said many school programs such as Glee Club and Art were discontinued. The prom was cancelled also, but one of the local organizations (she thought perhaps it was the Elks Club) sponsored an end-of-the-year dance instead.

Despite the economic crisis, Elizabeth was able to attend the American University in Washington D.C. for two years after her high school graduation. She stayed with her aunt and her uncle who was a professor at the university. After two years, Elizabeth returned to Arizona and spent a year taking odd jobs like babysitting and clerking at J.C. Penny's as an extra. Having saved up enough money, she returned to college, this time to the University of Arizona where she eventually met Bob.

Though Elizabeth felt World War II and the Great Depression were some of the worst world happenings during her 100 years, she named the space program as the most momentous event of her lifetime.

Elizabeth said, "We studied that and it was so exciting to my students. We saw the men land on the moon. I think that's the most significant thing I've seen."

Reflecting on being 100 years old, Elizabeth said, "One hundred years, that sounds awful! It doesn't seem like 100 years." She added, "I've really been lucky all my life. I've been mostly happy all my life too – except for when we had to sell the farm."