When News-Optimist reporter Jason Antonio went to talk with Robert Forrest on his 100th birthday three years ago, Forrest said he didn't have any plans for a 101st birthday.
It came as a happy surprise then, that Forrest celebrated 103 years of life Dec. 1.
"I never thought Uncle Bob would live to be 103," said Forrest's nephew, Rod Lane. "That just totally amazes me."
Friends and family came to celebrate the occasion with Forrest at the Battlefords District Care Centre, where Forrest moved shortly before his 100th birthday.
Prior to that, Forrest was living on his own in North Battleford, where he moved to from Traynor, southeast of Wilkie, in 1972.
When asked if he had any advice for those seeking longevity, Forrest replied, "No, not really. Just keep on living."
Forrest was born in 1907 in the small town of Naseby, northwest of Biggar. When he started farming, he spent his days walking behind a horse-drawn plough. When he retired from farming in 1972, it was a much different scene - with them new fangled tractors and all.
Forrest and his wife, Viola, had two sons together, Neil and Bill. Sadly, Forrest was predeceased by his son Neil, but Bill was there to share some birthday cake and reminisce.
"We're the only two left," said Bill.
Bill was a train conductor for many years, something he accredits to his father's brief stint as a brakeman on the railroad in 1928.
"He always used to have a good sense of humour," said Bill. "He always liked a good joke."
Lane spent many of his childhood summers on his uncle's farm. He remembered riding around the yard on the Forrests' two Shetland ponies, coming in occasionally to sneak some shortbread cookies - always one for himself, and one for the horse.
"Aunt Vi thought I ate a lot of cookies," Lane laughed.
When Lane asked Forrest if he remembered that, Forrest was quick to reply, "You bet."
Forrest's granddaughter, Brenda Hamm, said some of her fondest memories of her grandfather involved farming.
"I was mostly a grandma's girl," said Hamm. "I got to ride around in the truck with grandma when grandpa was out picking up bales."
Although Forrest's great-granddaughter, Tarra Kroeker, was too young to remember Forrest's farming days, she said she remembered him always being in the garden at his home in North Battleford.
"He was always smiling and laughing," she said, adding she enjoyed playing checkers with her great-grandfather.
Kroeker remained hopeful the family would have the chance to gather once again next year.
"Every year, we keep celebrating another birthday and hoping he has another one coming," she said.
