Not everyone lives to be 100 years old, but on March 19, lifelong Bayonne resident Nellie Basile celebrated 100 years on Earth, surrounded by 100 of her closest family members and friends.
Last week, at her Edison retirement home, with her three children, Annette, Gregory, and Marcy, she reflected on the memories that made her life most special, sharing that in her 100 years, family is the thing that matters most.
“I’ve had a good life,” Basile said. “And I don’t regret anything.”
Building a life in Bayonne
In the early 1940s, Basile was working for the Maidenform factory, which was recently converted into apartments. She made undergarments and tents for soldiers overseas, one of whom was her husband, George. The couple married at city hall before George left for Europe, but once he returned, they had a wedding ceremony the day after Christmas. Even a vicious snowstorm did not stop them from celebrating their wedding.
“I went to the church wearing my galoshes and I couldn’t get them off,” Basile laughed.
After getting married, the Basiles stayed in Bayonne to raise their three children.
“I liked that Bayonne was a city, but it wasn’t overcrowded,” she reminisced. “And all the buildings were low, and everyone out in the street would say hello to you.”
Basile insisted that raising three children was easy, but her three kids thought otherwise.
“I don’t know how Mom dealt with us,” Marcy said. “We used to run around the house, up and down the steps, making noise.”
“They were good kids,” Basile said, observing them from across a cafeteria table. “My husband used to straighten them out a lot.”
In addition to being a mother, Basile loved to garden, cook, and sew. She made almost all of Annette and Marcy’s clothes. Now, not much has changed. An expert in crocheting, Basile still makes useful items for her family, including scarves, hats, Afghans, and pouches for glasses that could also fit an iPhone.
Basile said her favorite memory was cooking homemade dinners every Sunday.
“Anywhere between 1 and 5 o’clock, we’d be sitting at the dining room table,” Annette said.
Most holidays were also spent at the Basile home. Christmas and Easter were the biggest celebrations in their Italian, Catholic household. But even on Saint Patrick’s Day, Basile made a special meal and baked shamrock-shaped rolls.
Basile turned to her kids and told them, “Now you kids have to pick up all my traditions!” She said they already acquired her talent for cooking and gardening.
The secret to longevity
One of the most important parts of raising a family was being able to put dinner on the table. But Basile’s three kids agreed that she took homemade meals to another level, making nearly every meal from scratch.
Basile’s garden took up most of the backyard at her Bayonne home. Annette, Gregory and Marcy agreed that their mother’s longevity could be attributed to the fact that she made nearly every meal herself from homegrown ingredients.
“I never liked to buy all those artificial things,” Basile said.
“She was always out in the yard with a pitchfork,” Annette recalled. “She was turning over tomatoes, corn, zucchini, squash, beans, you name it.”
“I remember when I grew corn, I could just pick it from the ear and scoop it right off the cob, and it was delicious,” Basile said. “You never get that anymore! I didn’t have to buy it, and I didn’t get sick or nothing.”
Basile called herself a “toughie” – a well-deserved title at her age. When her kids got sick and wanted to stay home from school, she told them, “Take it easy, work hard, and don’t think about it.” This is a motto that Basile seems to have lived by. Even after losing both her legs to diabetes, she is an active mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Last weekend, she celebrated her 2-year-old great-granddaughter’s birthday.
“I always say I’m getting younger, not older,” Basile joked. “So I’m really only 1 year old.”