Centenarians Share Tips On Long-Term Success : Live To Be 100 By Working Hard, Shopping, Being Happy, Avoiding the Doctor

People who have reached or passed the 100-year mark will tell you there is no magic formula for longevity and the reasons they point to for long life are as numerous as the candles on their birthday cakes.

The National Institute on Aging reports that long life often results from a mixed set of factors, some that people can control--weight and temper--and some they cannot--such as genetic makeup.

The Census Bureau reports that about 25,000 people in the United States are 100 or older and that number is expected to reach 100,000 by the year 2000.

A number of centenarians cited factors they believe are responsible for their long lives.

“I owe my long life to moderation in living and procrastination in dying,” said Will Parks, born in 1885 in Trimble, Tenn. Parks helped design the columns of the Lincoln Memorial.

“Whenever I feel blue, I go shopping,” said Frieda Hammershlag of Sarasota, Fla., born in 1882 in Germany.

Ella Williams, of Baton Rouge, La., born in 1879, attributed her long life to “avoiding alcohol and men.”

“Do the best you can, keep on going, and don’t look back,” said Elsie Fayue Patton, of Arlington, Va.

“Just make yourself usable,” said Evelyn Wright, of Washington, D.C. “Be happy and make people around you happy. I just haven’t had a chance to stop living yet.”

“Just hard work,” said Nellie Ruhland, of Catonsville, Md.

“Now you know you really shouldn’t tell secrets,” said Florida Graves, of Washington, D.C. “Well, I suppose my heritage, getting a proper diet with plenty of fresh food, exercise and lots of fresh air. One more thing--stay away from doctors.”

One of the nation’s most popular centenarian-plus perhaps is Lottie Hicks, of Alhambra. Hicks, who turns 104 on Jan. 30, is celebrating her birthday early by riding in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day, something she called “a wish come true.”

“Watch me on television,” Hicks said in a telephone interview from her residence at the P.E.O. Home, run by the Philanthropic Educational Organization. “I’ll wave to you.”

Ever since she marked her 100th year, Hicks has celebrated her birthday in a spectacular fashion.

She spent her 101st birthday taking her first helicopter ride, her 102nd soaring in the Goodyear blimp and her 103rd as a guest on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson.

Hicks, who never married and once worked as a practical nurse, was born on a farm in Ashkum, Ill., “but I didn’t get my hands in the dirt and I never milked a cow, but I rode horses,” she said.

“My secret to long life is, oh, I think it is I have inner faith. I am not a worry person. I always take life as it comes. When something negative comes along, I say ‘that is something that is not to be a part of me’ and I cast that aside and I think only of the good things. It is a positive attitude.

“Life is a learning profession. I am still learning. Every day I learn something new.

“This outlook of not looking back is very important. Back is ancient history. If you always look forward with courage and anticipation of something good, well, you know, life gives you back something good.”

Hicks also said she has “been blessed with friends. I have one who calls every night and wishes me good night and says a little prayer to see me safe through the night. . . . It makes tears roll down my cheeks because I think that is the most wonderful thing life can be--to have friends like that.”

Hicks said her secret to longevity is in her genes. She uses a cane occasionally because of arthritis and had a hip operation. And she has a cataract that may require surgery but she is still able to read.

“I eat everything,” she said. “I like bacon and pancakes for breakfast. I never salt anything. Doctor’s orders.

“When we have dinner, we always have a little wine, not to excess. It’s just to have a social feeling. I wouldn’t drink alone ever.”

The 5-foot-5 Hicks weighs 124 pounds and “they all tell me I have a good figure,” she said.

“If it wasn’t for the arthritis in my knees, I would be out dancing--the way I did one night when I was 98.”

Her extended family is the result of her adopting her niece many years after her sister-in-law died.

“My sister-in-law passed away from uremic poisoning in 1920 and I took her 4-day-old baby girl into my home,” she said. “But a single woman could not adopt a child then. I could not adopt her until after she was married.”

Her niece passed away about six years ago but “her four children are here in California,” Hicks said. “They all live within an hour’s drive. And I have nine great-grandchildren.”

Asked to name someone she admired greatly over the decades, Hicks said, “I always thought Eleanor Roosevelt was a special woman. She gave something to the world.

“And when I say that you must remember that I am not a Democrat.”