Arthea (Arty)Hackett began her journey with Oak Park when she was ten years old. She and her family moved here from the Beulah area in the early 1930s. Her father worked at the Traverse City State Hospital as an engineer. She enjoyed growing up in Oak Park with her siblings and attending school right here in the Oak Park neighborhood located in the current employee parking lot of family fare. To say Arty has made lifelong connections to Oak Park is an understatement considering she turned 100 years old this October and she continues to call Oak Park home.
As a child
Arty often enjoyed swimming in the bay and sledding in the winter and playing
music in all forms. She grew up in a
family that appreciated music and they often spent evenings playing music together
and singing on the porch. She remembers a general store on the corner of
Washington and Rose. Many churches also called Oak Park home during this time
and you can still find them along our streets on both Washington and Webster.
As a young
woman Arty married the love of her life William (Bill) and began a family. Bill
spent his career as a serviceman in the Navy, responsible for packing
parachutes during WWII and in later years transitioned to the Air Force. This
brought Arty and Bill with their growing family to travel the world including
the Philippines, North Carolina and many other beautiful places.
Arty is grateful to have raised her family in so many
beautiful places in the world. She has four marvelous children: Linda, Rick,
Terilee and Marcia. Two of the children were born while traveling the world and
the last two were born here in Oak Park. Arty feels living abroad gave them a
sense of gratitude and perspective they might not have had otherwise. She has
that same sense of gratitude for settling down and buying their forever home
here in the Oak Park neighborhood. Arty and Bill purchased their home from a
dear friend that no longer needed such a large house.
Arty has
always had and still maintains a beautiful garden. She truly is an experienced
and gifted gardener. You can still find
Arty out raking and caring for her yard and beautiful flower gardens. Her
backyard is a beautiful place filled with lovingly cared for flowers. I enjoyed watching Arty hula hoop in her
magical backyard on her 100th birthday. Yes, that's right folks--hula hooping
at 100 years old!! Maybe we need to add Oak
Park to the Blue Zone!!!!
One of the
most inspiring things about Artie is her spirit for joy and movement to promote
longevity. Arty learned to hula hoop from her 90-year-old sister and even
hosted classes in her backyard on Washington Street to teach hula hooping to
others. She believes keeping moving is an important part of life.
The thread
that has always connected Arty to her childhood neighborhood is her friends and
neighbors. They have played an incredible role in her wellbeing and happiness
throughout every stage of life. They along with her beautiful children are a
significant part of her support. Bill passed away in his 70s and the support
and friendships with people in Oak Park helped to anchor her during this time.
Arty's neighbors help her get to all of her appointments which are all very
close to her home, another gift of Oak Park.
Arty's 100-year-old
advice to anyone who wants to know is simple. “Work hard to have fun, enjoy
your life and try new things at all ages and keep moving.”
When you see Arty this spring wish her a happy 100th
year on the planet.
Humans of Oak Park (HOOP) is a take off on the Humans of New York project (HONY). While HONY provides a daily glimpse into the lives of strangers on the streets of New York City. HOOP sporadically tells the story of an Oak Park neighbor you may or may not know. Many thanks to Angie Ross for the lovely photo and Arty Hackett interview above. To submit a HOOP story, email: oakpark.tcmi@gmail.com .