Springfield woman reflects on 105 years of life

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- A local woman is celebrating her 105th birthday and reflecting on her time in Springfield. 

Anna Louise Baker turned 105 years old on Tuesday, a major milestone for the Indiana native. Now, she's reflecting on her long life, full of highs and lows.

Baker started out in Greencastle, Indiana. When she was just a baby her parents moved to Big Timber, Montana. Then when she was seven, they moved to Livingston. That's where her father, Grover Baker, got involved in the whiskey making business; an illegal practice during the Prohibition in the 1920s. 

"While he was in jail, my mom she kept going because there wasn't any other way that I am that she could make a living for us kids," Baker said. 

After spending a short time in jail, her father decided to move them to Oregon. First Portland, then Woodburn, and Silverton. Eventually, they came to Springfield in 1945.

"When we moved down here there was only two empty houses and my husband bought one," Baker said.

As you can imagine, a lot can happen in more than a century. And it's not just the lives that can change.

Anna's son, Nick Willhite, told KEZI 9 News things look a lot different in Springfield. 

"Well, Main Street out here used to be a gravel road. And we'd ride our bicycles out here. And during that time, Cougar Reservoir and Blue River Reservoir does not exist," he said. 

And it's not just the landscape. 

"The way people see things have changed," Willhite said. "Kids don't seem to have the values that maybe we had when we were younger."

Even so, Willhite still lives and breathes Springfield. 

"I grew up here everything in my life happened here," he said. 

Now, it's time for him to help his mom, after she spent so many years doing everything she could for him. 

"Oh he's such a good boy," Baker said. "I don't know what I'd do without him."

Anna now resides at the Sweet Briar Villa in Springfield.