Christine Dalton: Alive at 105!

Imagine being born 105 years ago: Before cars were commonplace, and only 10 years after Wilbur and Orville Wright made their epic first flight at Kitty Hawk.

Comparing life in 1913 to 2018 makes the changes look staggering. But for Christine Dalton, it all happened very gradually and doesn't seem to surprise her.

"It's been interesting," she said. "But things change. Back then, we cranked our phones and our cars!"

The month before Dalton was born, the Woman Suffrage Procession was marching on Washington, D.C. The date of March 3 was chosen because it was the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. Their official program stated, "March in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded." In 2020, the parade is scheduled to be depicted and honored on the redesign of the United States' $10 bill.

Dalton was born and raised in Hawaii. Her parents came to Hawaii on a ship from Portugal and made the journey around the Cape of Good Hope. During the voyage her older sister was born. When the family hit tough times, Dalton was raised by a foster family

"They were my real family," she said.

Her foster father worked in a sugar mill and was homesteading land in Kilauea. When she first joined her new family, she didn't have any other children to play with. So she chased bugs and climbed papaya and banana trees eating the fresh fruit right out of the tree.

Watching the world change and evolve has left Dalton realizing that it's easy to see things happen and not realize their importance.

"We took everything for granted," she said.

She saw her first airplane when she was a young girl and couldn't understand what was flying overhead.

"We couldn't see anyone inside," she said.

The next time she saw airplanes in Hawaii was a moment she'd never forget. The numerous, noisy airplanes she saw flying over Pearl Harbor didn't alarm her family in the beginning.

"At first, we didn't realize what was happening," she said. "It wasn't until we heard it on the radio that we knew what was going on and that we'd been attacked. It was real tough!"

Dalton explained that her family was lucky. They lived high above Pearl Harbor and could see it but weren't nearby.

"That's something we have to be very thankful for," she said. "We just stayed home and looked down on the harbor."

Before Pearl Harbor, Dalton had a carefree childhood with her new family. She walked to Kilauea School with her friends past a church that's still standing today, and a cemetery.

"I never heard any scary stories," she chuckled, "so I wasn't scared."

Dalton swam with her friends at night, enjoying the warm water. They played hide-and-go-seek, climbed trees and hid behind ginger plants. "When you're little you can hide behind just about anything," she mused.

Dalton was married two times in Hawaii and had six children, three girls and three boys. During Dalton's time living in Hawaii it was not a state but was known as the Republic of Hawaii. It wasn't until 1959 that it became the 50th state.

In 1944, she and her husband, Jim Dalton, moved with their family to Minnesota where they had relatives. It was there that Dalton and her children saw their first snow.

Christine and her family moved to Sisters in 1972 from China Lake, California, where her husband had a distinguished career in the Navy. He worked on weapons technology including the Sidewinder, a short-range, air-to-air missile that is still used today.

"We saw an ad for the house in the Leithauser Grocery Store in Sisters," said Dalton. Dalton's youngest daughter, Roxane Trask, now lives in the family home. These days, Dalton is recovering from a bout of pneumonia. Roxane is happy to see her mother gaining strength and the return of that charming twinkle in her eye.

Christine stayed home raising her children. She enjoyed cooking and made it an adventure.

"I'd try anything!" she said.

Roxanne and her other sisters wanted to make sure their mother's passion for crocheting was mentioned.

"My mom has made beautiful afghans, stuffed animals, hats, scarves and Christmas decorations," said Trask.

Dalton gave most of her creations away to children and a NICU at a local hospital in Bakersfield where one of her other daughters lives.

"Some of the hats were so tiny they would fit on a Barbie doll," said Trask.

Until just a few weeks ago, Dalton continued to crochet, making crosses from the rings pulled from the tops of soda six-packs.

Christine Dalton's 105th birthday is next month. Until then, she'll continue playing Yahtzee with her daughters, using Facetime so everyone is included.

"Mom can add up the numbers on the dice faster than any of us," said Roxane.

The family can't wait to celebrate their mother's incredible, interesting life and look forward to making more memories together. Using one of Dalton's favorite sayings, she can't wait to "chow down!" with her family.