Leap day woman celebrates 25 birthdays and a century of memories

Mattie Alberta Alford Huckaba has too many memories to keep in order. Sometimes they collide and she has trouble recalling events. But Berta, as her friends call her, knows exactly what's happening today. She's a Leap Day baby and she's turning 100.

"Honey I never thought a thing about it," said the tiny, silver-haired Carson City woman when asked if she ever believed she'd see her 100th birthday.

Born in 1908 in a tiny Mississippi town called Vaiden, Berta remembers she was 5 years old when her family got its first telephone.

"Oh, we thought we were so rich," she said laughing.

At age 14 she married a strapping 19-year-old by the name of Vic Huckaba, whom she met in the church yard.

As soon as Vic saved enough money to buy a mule and a plow, the teenage couple set up housekeeping in a little house on a piece of land near the Mississippi River.

They built a bed frame and stuffed a mattress with straw. Berta's mama gave the couple a stove.

"My mama was good to me," Berta said.

She talked of her mother curling her hair and giggled at the memory.

"I'd get so mad at my mama for pulling my hair!"

Berta said Vic drank a little too much for her liking. When her granddaughter Deborah Snyder asked if she were trying to air the dirty laundry, Berta answered right back, "I believe if you tell one thing you tell it all."

She and Vic had three boys, Harold, Gene and Larry. After a moment, Berta remembered that two of those boys were gone. Gene died in 1989. Harold, Deborah's father, just two years ago, at age 75.

"It must be hard to outlive your children," Deborah said softly as her grandmother cried.

After 45 years of marriage, Vic died of a heart attack.

"When grandpa died she just kept telling me all the time, 'I'm ready to just go be with Vic,'" said Deborah. "Until about three years ago, it dawned on her that she was pretty close to being 100. Then she started talking about it all the time. So I think at that point she was determined to stick around."

In her 50s, Berta took a job as a dietitian with a hospital. In her twilight, she moved in with her son Harold who doted on her.

"He always got me whatever I needed," she said.

Deborah said they'll celebrate today with the number 100 written on her grandmother's birthday cake and 25 candles to represent the times Berta's actually seen Feb. 29. Berta said she'd enjoy it if people in the community would send her a birthday card.

Her advice for the world was simple:

"Be kind. Build the world a better place."

- Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.

DID YOU KNOW:

Birthday greetings for Mattie Alberta Alford Huckaba can be sent to:

Evergreen at Mountain View

201 Koontz Lane

Carson City, Nev. 89701

Attn: Alberta Huckaba

Famous people born on February 29 include:

- 1468 " Pope Paul III (d. 1549)

- 1792 " Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (William Tell, The Barber of Seville)

- 1896 " Morarji Desai, former Indian prime minister (d. 1995)

- 1916 " Dinah Shore, American singer (d. 1994)

- 1924 " Al Rosen, American baseball player

- 1924 " Carlos Humberto Romero, former president of El Salvador

- 1960 " Richard Ramirez, American serial killer

- 1960 " Anthony (Tony) Robbins, American motivational speaker

- 1964 " Lyndon Byers, Canadian hockey player

- 1972 " Antonio Sabàto Jr., Italian-born actor

- 1976 " Ja Rule, American rapper and actor

- 1980 " Chris Conley, American musician and songwriter/composer

Events that took place on February 29 in history include:

- 1692 " First accusations began during the Salem witch trials. The trials occurred in Massachusetts in the United States, where more than 150 people were arrested and at least 25 people died by hanging, torture or during their prison stay.

- 1848 " Neufchatel declares the independence of Switzerland.

- 1940 " Hattie McDaniel was the first African American actress to win an Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as "Mammy" in Gone with the Wind.

- 1944 " The invasion of the Admiralty Islands began as United States General Douglas MacArthur led his forces in "Operation Brewer." Troops surged onto Los Negros, following a month of Allied advances in the Pacific. This event was one of the highlights of World War II.

- 1952 " The first "Walk/Don't Walk" signs were installed in New York City.

- 1964 " Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser received her 36th world record.

- 1972 " Musical siblings The Carpenters received a gold record for the hit single "Hurting Each Other. "

" Source: leapzine.com

Fast Facts

About 200,000 people in the United States and 4.1 million people in the world are Leap Day babies.

" Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

What's the point of Leap Year?

Feb. 29 comes once every four years. It was adopted to keep the calendar months in line with the seasons.

If Leap Day were not added, the calendar would gain about six hours per year and 24 days per century in relation to the seasons.

Among the U.S. women who will celebrate their 100th birthday this Leap Day:

- Mabel Helgeson of Dickson, N.D., was born in Perham, Minn.

- Evie O. Gilbert of Kingman, Ariz. was born in Foreman, Ark.