Greens, garlic, daily walks and love of family has kept this native Batavian going to 103
Photo by Joanne Beck
Wholesome nutrition, doing chores as needed, daily exercise and family have been the staples to ensure Celia Puccio’s longevity all these years.
Just how many years? A native of Batavia, she just celebrated her 103rd birthday earlier this week.
Celia grew up on Hutchins Street with her parents, Josephine and Rocco, grandmother, and nine siblings, plus brother Tony’s hunting dogs. They grew a garden and canned vegetables, baked bread, sharing chores either before and/or after school, she said.
“I did whatever had to be done, they were always baking or cooking, and we had to pick up after them,” Celia said at her Oak Street home. “They did the canning process, and you had to clean up all the messes.”
Was it ever tough to get attention or enough to eat in that brood? “Never,” she said. “It was wonderful.”
“My brother said ‘never eat everything on your plate, give some to the dogs,’” she said.
His sisters would clean up after dinner, and Mary didn’t listen to him; she ate everything on her plate, Celia said with a smile. Celia went to Lincoln, then Jackson Elementary School, finally attending the former Batavia Jr-Sr High School on Ross Street. She didn’t graduate, because “I met him,” as a junior, she said, pointing to her framed wedding photo of her and the late Charley Puccio from decades ago.
She dropped out of school a year early and married Charley, and they first moved in with her grandmother in Oakfield before settling into their longtime home on Oak Street. Charlie set up a barbershop with his uncle, beginning at age 12 before meeting the love of his life. He incrementally built onto the original structure as money allowed, to create a larger home, barber shop and garage. Those renovations more than doubled the space, Celia said.
He died in 2002 after the couple was married for nearly 60 years. And the barbershop carries on with daughter Kathy, who stays with mom about three days a week. Just thinking about all of that commotion and dry wall dust made Celia wince a bit.
“I wouldn’t want to go back,” she said. “I was a stay-at-home mom ,and in later years I worked as an assistant cook at the high school. I enjoyed cooking for the family.”
Every Sunday meant the air was filled with simmering homemade tomato sauce — with tomato paste added in — for the weekly spaghetti supper.
Her meals have been nutritious, such as beans and greens of all kinds, with lots of garlic. And she used to take daily walks, meeting four girlfriends at the corner of Oak and Richmond. She also refused a few habits, such as smoking and drinking.
Walking is more difficult now, and Celia likes to watch cooking shows and use a bike pedal machine. She pointed to a picture frame of scrolling family photos.
“They mean more to me than TV,” she said.
Family includes four children, five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and two twins on the way for a September arrival. That's a new goal to make, her daughter said.
Visits with family are golden.
“I enjoy it very much,” Celia said, sharing a piece of life advice she’s learned along the way. “Just love one another.”
Submitted Photo
