Lots to remember for 109-year-old Flossie Dickey

When you live to be 109 years old, you end up with a lot of memories.

So many that sometimes it's difficult to keep things straight, Cheney Care Center resident Flossie Dickey said as she celebrated her 109th birthday last Wednesday with care center residents and many family and friends who stopped by or called almost all day long.

Dickey was born Feb. 18, 1906, in "a little country town" called Yoncolla, Ore., that she said was somewhere near Corvallis.

"I couldn't tell you," she said. "I haven't been there in years."

Dickey's parents moved to the Inland Northwest when she was still an infant, first to North Idaho and then to Spokane where she said she attended school.

A family member owned property near the Pend O'Reille River, and it was here when she was around age 6 that she and her siblings had the opportunity to meet Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Tribe of Indians, spending time in their teepees and learning many of their customs and skills.

At age 15, she met and married Roy Dickey, who she said at the time was driving a "water wagon" used to keep the dust on the dirt streets down.

"My mom met him and she thought he was quite a guy," Flossie said. "Well, I married him."

The couple stayed together for more than 50 years, with Flossie giving birth to three children, Rita, Arthur and Clyde during the Great Depression. Eventually over time, the family grew to include grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great great grandchildren.

Roy and Flossie at one point moved with their children to the Chehalis, Wash., area where she said she remembers working in apple orchards at times. The couple also had a farm near Lewiston, Idaho, for a number of years, a location several of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren said created fond memories for them as they grew up and visited.

Dickey has been at the Cheney Care Center since 2001, and according to staff information, has "formed what she refers to as many friendships with her peers and staff members." She loves to crochet, pet therapies and sharing stories from her past, including doing comparisons of her life versus the lives of people today.

Her favorite activity, however, is getting up in the morning, which she said is a "good start" to the day.

Always looking to the future, care center staff said Dickey told them she has four things she would like to do before she reaches 110 years old, including learning to play golf, driving a car and riding in a train.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.