ST. CHARLES, Ill. (CBS) — Remember the Century of Progress Exposition of 1933-1934, which brought more than 39 million people to Northerly Island?
What about when the horse and carriage began to disappear from the city roads in favor of the automobile?
You almost certainly don’t remember such things. But Ann Banas does.
Banas turned 105 on Tuesday and there was a party especially for her in St. Charles. Fittingly for someone who fits the title, a woman sang the 1951 Nat King Cole classic “Unforgettable” for the occasion.
Banas doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. People who live to such great ages often know the secret of their longevity.
To that question, Banas replied, “I have no idea.”
Banas is also too modest to find her story worth hearing.
“So what’s the big story about it?” she said. “Anyone can go there.”
But because Banas still goes, she remembers things that most of us just know from old movie or history classes. Her grandson, Brian Vaszily, asked her about her memories of the aforementioned Century of Progress Exposition – and she did indeed remember going.
Vaszily also noted that Woodrow Wilson was president when his grandmother was born. He knows her best stories by heart.
“She played with Pope John Paul when he was a boy, and she was just a little girl, in the town of Wadowice in Poland,” he said.
Banas was born in Chicago in 1920 to Polish immigrant parents.
“I had good parents,” she said. “I actually had very good parents.”
Banas and her husband spent most of their years together on a small farm in Elburn, Illinois. They raised several children on the farm.
“Well, compared to what I do now, that was playing,” Banas said, laughing.
The family tree that originated more than a century ago has grown and grown. Banas has eleven grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.”
“All I can say is what a surprise, unexpected,” Banas said Tuesday about her birthday. “So thank you to everyone who has been a part of it.”
Banas also blew out a candle for her cake for the occasion. Now that she is 105 years old, she is more than determined to continue.
Banas lived alone until she was 102. She now lives with a few other seniors at Inspirations Senior Assisted Living in St. Charles.
