90-plus and still going strong

John McDonald if he has his sights set high. He has seen plenty of things during his 99 years of living, and he said he is planning to be around for his 200th birthday.

"My sons are planning it, and I told them I'd be there," McDonald said, cracking a smile while sitting in his Palmer Pioneer Home room. "I've made it this far, so I guess I'll have to stay around."

And why not, after all? Through 99 years, McDonald has a wild sense of humor and can talk at length about his experiences growing up. That vivacity is being celebrated, as he is one of the honorees for the Valley Walk for Alzheimer's, which starts tomorrow. Each year, seniors who are 90 or older without Alzheimer's are selected for the honor.

McDonald moved to Alaska in 1954 from Oregon. Alaska was a territory then. His family -- a wife, five boys and a daughter -- settled on a farm on Hyer Road before they were able to purchase their own home. Through his nearly 50 years in the Valley, McDonald has seen many things come and go.

"Boy, have I seen changes. There used to not be so many people," McDonald said. "I remember two or three buildings here and there, and that was it."

McDonald has always been active, and that is what keeps him young he said.

"I was 90 going back and forth on the highway myself," McDonald said proudly. "I don't get around so good anymore though."

He still goes shopping with other Pioneer Home residents, and just last week, he was passing out stickers to children at Wal-Mart.

"They keep good care of me here," he said. "I still go shopping."

Friends of McDonald may want to circle July 2, 2103 on their calendars -- that's the date of his 200th birthday bash.

McDonald is just one of several honorees for the walk this year. Ninety-one-year-old Katherine Wolf is another honoree who lives in the Pioneer Home.

She moved to Alaska in 1989 to be with her family. She is from New Jersey, and still sports a Jersey accent. She said she used to visit Alaska for two months every summer, and then decided to make the visits permanent.

"I had so much fun picnicking, sightseeing and everything when I'd visit," Wolf said. "I visited the North Pole and Santa's house in the middle of the summer."

One thing she enjoys about Alaska is the weather -- yes, the weather.

"Things were so stinkin' hot in Jersey," Wolf said. "I couldn't wait to move here."

In just 13 years, she has seen lots of changes in the Valley. "It's not so countryfied anymore," she said.

"When I first moved here the road to my house in Wasilla was gravel. Now all the streets are paved and it's not the country anymore," she said.

Wolf said she misses seeing the "pink glow in the sky when the moon hits the fresh snow," saying the lights in the sky now are the result of a city's haze.

Wolf said she is excited about being an honoree for the Valley Walk for Alzheimer's, and plans to attend.

"I can't walk anymore, but I'll go and meet some people and make new friends," Wolf said.

Harriett Hansen is just as active. She spends her time between three Alaska cities -- she lives in Anchorage, but spends just as much time in Sterling with her son and in Talkeetna with her two daughters.

She moved to Anchorage from Detroit more than 40 years ago. A former hairdresser, she moved to Talkeetna during the late 1970s. She would occupy the spot at the end of Main Street and watch Talkeetna life unfold.

She, too, is an honoree at the walk on Saturday.

Alice Anson of Wasilla and harold Smith of Palmer are the other two 90-year-old plus Valley residents who are being honored.

The Valley Walk for Alzheimer's begins at 10 a.m. on the Alaska State Fairgrounds. There is a registrations scheduled for 9 a.m.