By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Born on the prairies to George and Annie Swain in 1923, Marg Ramsden is a living history lesson.
She was delivered on the kitchen table in a farmhouse near Macklin, Sask. No doctor was available so her father assisted with the birth.
“There was no hospital, so that’s what they had to do,” the feisty centenarian said about her entrance into the world.
Last week, the quick-witted Chatham Retirement Resort resident was recognized for turning 103. She was presented with a certificate from Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Trevor Jones for achieving the milestone.
A veteran of the First World War, her British father made his way to the Canadian prairies to work the land.
“He didn’t know zippo about farming, but he became very successful,” Ramsden said of her dad.
But the harsh Saskatchewan climate, coupled with the great crash of 1929, led to Ramsden’s move to Kent County in 1942. They chose the Ridgetown area as they were related to the owner of Swain’s Greenhouse.
As the Second World War raged overseas, Ramsden did her part. At age 18 she got a job at the Wallaceburg Brass Factory, helping make pins for grenades.
“I was Rosie the Riveter,” she said proudly.
She went on to have a 30-year career with Bell Canada in Chatham; married Kenneth Ramsden and raised two children, a daughter Twyla Atchison and son Zebina Ramsden.
The centenarian, who has lived at the retirement home since 2022, said she loves where she lives.
“I like it here,” Ramdsen said. “People are good to me.”
Ramsden is known in the residence for spreading positivity, as she hands out inspirational quotes to others each day.
When asked about the key to longevity, Ramsden said she’s not sure why she’s made it beyond the century mark.
“I don’t know, it just happens,” the diminutive elder explained, adding she never drank or smoked.
“You just take it one day at a time.”
