Woman celebrated her 108th birthday in Worland

Edna Scott celebrated her 108th birthday on Nov. 24 marking two milestones: the obvious one of achieving the age of 108, and celebrating her first birthday in Worland.

Previously, Edna lived in Powell until 2000, then moved to an apartment in Laurel, Montana, where she lived until she took a fall. Afterwards, Edna moved in with her great-niece Fawnette Greff in Bridger, Montana, in 2022. Fawnette finally relocated the two of them to Worland this August to be closer to Fawnette's niece.

Fawnette said that because of the weather and due to the difficulty in traveling, Edna unfortunately didn't get to have her usual birthday celebration. That didn't bother Edna too much though; she has an uplifting personality, and carries a happy-go-lucky nonchalance that is hard to find today.

Her memory of her early life isn't as good as it used to be, but in piecing together what she could remember it's easy to see that she is an amazing woman.

Edna was born in Melstone, Montana, in 1915 to John and Iris Harris. Life was much different then; this was the time before electricity or telephones became common in households, and World War I was underway.

She grew up on a farm outside of town, and began to help around the farm when she was 5 years old; her father had just sustained an injury that would render him crippled for the remainder of his life, and he needed her help to keep up with the chores. She said, "I didn't know any different back then, it's just what I had to do." Edna recalls her favorite chore was milking the cows, even though she didn't drink milk.

Eventually the farm became too much for her family to keep up with, and they moved into town. Edna graduated from high school in Melstone, and left home to work in Roundup.

Edna went on to finish beauty school, and she moved to Bridger where she ran a beauty salon with her partner Margarette Larson for seven years.

In 1943, at age 28 Edna met Walt Scott and they got married and moved to Powell later that year. At this time, young men were being drafted to fight for the United States in World War II, and she remembers, "He shipped out the day we were married."

Walt's military service was fairly brief, though, because he was injured in the war and returned home with a Purple Heart.

Walt went back to work at his family's plumbing business, earning enough money that Edna never had to work. Although she didn't work and the pair never had children, Edna had no trouble staying busy.

She and Walt spent time together hunting, fishing and square dancing. While Walt was working, Edna had hobbies to keep her busy.

When Northwest College opened in 1946, 31-year-old Edna enrolled herself in free courses and immersed herself in her studies. Her favorite subjects were archaeology and geology, and they sparked her passion for the outdoors.

She spent her days walking miles through the desert, searching for rocks, artifacts, fossils and cacti. Fawnette said that Edna had amassed a collection of nearly 1,000 cacti and had an entire room for them. She had a collection of fossils that included dinosaur bones and shark teeth.

Edna and Walt were among the founders of the Homesteader Museum in Powell, and Edna would go on to donate her collection of rocks and fossils to the Rocky Mountain College Geology Department.

Walt passed away in 1997, and Edna continued to live in Powell until 2000, when she moved to live by herself in an apartment in Laurel at 85 years old. After 57 years of living in Powell, Edna had lots to say about it. Multiple times over the course of the interview, she said, "Powell was a nice town. I liked the people; they were very welcoming and very nice."

Now living in Worland with Fawnette, Edna is in incredibly good health for her age. She still has her senses of sight and hearing, although weaker than they used to be. She likes to sit in her chair and watch the birds outside the window, or just to sit and watch TV. Fawnette said, "Edna is very content with what she does nowadays."

On reaching the remarkable age of 108, Edna said she never imagined that she would live this long. She said, "I guess I'm just too ornery to die."

In all seriousness, Edna has no idea why she has lived as long as she has. Fawnette may have helped shed some light on that though, saying that Edna never smoked or drank, and that she walked at least five miles every day until she was in her late 80s. Edna said that she still feels very healthy, and she doesn't feel like "it's her time yet." She was quick to point out that she had better get into the doctor for a check-up, though (she forgot that she just went last month).

You may wonder, what wisdom does a 108-year-old woman have to give? Asked just that, Edna said, "Just live a good life."

Fawnette reminded her what Edna's mother used to tell her when she'd go to the dance hall in Melstone as a kid: "No smoking, no drinking, and no going out in the hall to meet the boys."

Seeing how it worked out for Edna, it might be worth thinking about.