Margaret Hatfield has had quite the interesting life.
The resident of Ferndale Gardens Mortdale turned 100 on September 12.
She was born at Ballarat, and was one of five children among two brothers and two sisters.
Her father was a pastry cook baker. Her uncle bought Pooles Bakery, Kogarah, and there in that suburb she grew up. She remembers bread being delivered in horse-drawn carts, all the way to Como.
Fond memories of her childhood years spent at Kogarah including playing in the family’s big backyard that was full of fruit trees, chickens and ducks.
Mrs Hatfield worked in a shipping company as an accountant in Pitt Street at McCathies Emporium, where she worked for a decade until she married.
She was a member of the Carmel Lawn Tennis Association and played competitively. That was where she met her husband, John.
They had two daughters, seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Mrs Hatfield says her secret to becoming a centenarian is always staying positive.
“What’s the use of complaining,” she said, quoting a famous song by Doris Day, “Que Sera Sera, Whatever will be, will be.”
