Gertrude Machan, 99, a resident of Sunshine Ridge Retirement Residence, will be participating on the Sunshine Ridge team during the Big Bike Ride in Osoyoos on May 9. She is the oldest person ever to do the ride. (Vi Brown photo)
A 99-year-old Osoyoos woman, Gertrude Machan, will be the oldest person ever to participate in the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike Ride.
Machan will be riding at around 1 p.m. on May 9 with the Sunshine Ridge Team and will be accompanied by Jennifer Herd, the Ambassador of the Big Bike event.
Machan has been an Osoyoos resident for the past 37 years. She’s lived at Sunshine Ridge Retirement Residence since 2013, where her 94-year-old younger sister also lives.
This amazing lady is not “old.” In fact, she is out and about regularly. She walks to the grocery story, drug store, to her appointments and many other places in town.
The only exceptions are during times of ice, snow or strong winds. During bad weather, she supplements her exercise by walking the halls and stairs at her residence.
Herd encouraged Machan to participate in the Big Bike ride and she will accompany her. Machan said she is “happy about” participating.
Machan is originally from a hamlet called Falun, in the centre of Alberta, southwest of Edmonton. Not big enough to qualify as a village, it remains a hamlet.
She spent 14 years on the farm in Falun and rode to school on horseback – about eight kilometres.
There were no cars, no radios and mail was delivered once a week if the mailman could get through. No one cleared the roads in those days.
Most of her life has been in ministering. She married her husband, a pastor, at age 18. They ministered in northern B.C. and then spent five years covering the coast of B.C. on a mission boat, Northern Light.
They had three adopted girls. After her husband’s death, Machan moved back to Alberta where she worked in the Health Education Centre for doctors promoting preventative medicine. She later worked as a Bible worker for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Machan married again and eventually she and her husband retired in Osoyoos where they became part of the local Seventh-Day Adventist family. During that time, Machan’s husband encouraged her to use a computer.
For the past 15 years, Machan has been corresponding by email and is now also communicating through Facebook.
“I couldn’t live without it,” she says.
Last year, Machan put together a book, entitled Frontier Footsteps, with the help of an editor. It highlights the mission work that she was a part of during her younger years. It is used to raise funds for First Nation young people to provide them with other opportunities and move them away from the drug culture.
In her spare time, she participates in the Art Club at Sunshine Ridge and has some of her art on display.
When asked what she attributes to her longevity, her response is God and diet.
God has always been part of Machan’s life and she says, “The Lord has been good to me.”
As for diet, Machan is a strict vegetarian. She has never consumed alcohol or smoked. She does not eat meat. She does consume eggs and dairy products in moderation.
The main staples, however, are legumes, whole grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables. In many circles, this diet is considered a balanced approach to eating. It certainly has worked for Machan.
When Machan and Herd ride the Big Bike, they will be sitting in the back seat, so give them a big wave!
Vi Brown is a freelance writer who leads a writing group in Oliver.
The Osoyoos Times is open to publishing articles by local writers about the community. Contact Editor Richard McGuire, [email protected].
VI BROWN
Special to the Times
