Local resident, golfer, and Bridge guru Mickey Gower celebrated her 104th birthday on July 13. Her celebration took place at the Deer Ridge Golf Course and included some of her closest friends.
She was born and raised in Central Butte, and when she was 16, she moved to Moose Jaw to train as a nurse. After meeting her husband, who was then studying to be a pharmacist at the University of Saskatoon where she lived for four years, she returned to Moose Jaw to begin her career. “That was the 1950s,” she said. “That was just like yesterday!”
During her career, she was a registered nurse and she worked at the Union Hospital, which was known as the Moose Jaw General Hospital at the time.
Her birthday celebration at Deer Ridge Par 3 Golf Course was chosen because of her many years spent golfing at the course. “I golfed for 100 years,” she said. One highlight of her career was a hole in one at the Hillcrest Golf Course, on hole 9 (which is now hole 18).
Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com asked Gower what the secret to her longevity is. “Sports,” she said definitively. As well, her motto has always been to “live a clean and healthy life.”
“I started out with field days in my youth, and I used to run and jump and da da da. So, then I played tennis at school, and I got into golf and curling. I curled until I was 100.” Gower said she no longer curls because she possibly could slip on the ice.
“I like to play Bridge and [do] crossword puzzles. It keeps me mentally alert,” she added.
Some of her friends wanted to add that she is a bit too good at Bridge in particular and always seems to win. Nobody seemed willing to bring a deck of cards to the party to disprove this.
She wanted to give some advice to young people. “My adage is: never say anything to people that hurts people. If you say something, make it something positive or don’t say anything at all.”
“It’s just great to be here with all my friends, and I’m glad I have so many, and that I can still attend these functions,” she said.
Happy Birthday Mickey!
