A lot can happen in a century and Claudine Duncan has seen it all, at least in Frederick where she has spent her entire life.
Duncan will celebrate her centennial birthday today. Born in 1921 to second generation Oklahoma farmers, Duncan believes the key to her longevity is a deep and earnest relationship with God.
“God has a plan for everyone and he knew me before I was conceived,” Duncan said. “I’m as amazed as anybody that I’ve made it to the 100 year mark and it’s nothing that I’ve done except be true to (God) and put things in his hands.”
Duncan, who still lives by herself among her plethora of photos and memories said she has always taken care of herself and never smoked tobacco or drank alcohol.
Born during some of Oklahoma’s most defining moments in history, Duncan said growing up on a second generation farm and marrying a farmer shielded her from the worst — namely the Great Depression.
“We saw what was happening all over the country and in the Panhandle with the Dust Bowl, but it didn’t really affect us down here,” said Duncan. “We had everything we needed right here on the farm. We had our animals and milk cows and were just very self-contained.”
Duncan married in 1921 at the age of 18. Her marriage to Walter “Jack” Duncan lasted until his death in 2018 at the age of 96. While she cherishes all her memories with her husband of 76 years, Duncan’s fondest memory is how they met.
Duncan said she doesn’t remember her exact age, but she was still in high school, a little two-room building on the outskirts of Frederick. She said she was cutting cotton in the field when Jack drove by in a Model A Ford. Jack noticed her in the field and after he returned home he quickly came up with an excuse to his mother so he could go back and meet the girl who caught his eye.
Jack told his mom, who raised turkeys, that he thought a turkey was missing. He quickly made his way back to the field where Duncan was working and introduced himself. So began the courtship. Their first date was held at a local tent revival and in May, 1939 the couple wed.
The couple built a farmhouse on family land and for the next 75 years raised three kids — Lawrence Duncan, Dena Northcutt and D’Ann Gabriele.
“I had a wonderful life and did everything a farm wife does,” Duncan said. “I raised chickens, and took care of the garden, the orchard and the canning and all the other things we did for our family. I was satisfied and happy with that.”
Duncan left the farm for the city life in 2014 after Jack was placed in a nursing home. She said she enjoys her apartment but misses the view she had from her farmhouse’s large picture window. She said she could see for miles from that window.
While most people today communicate almost instantaneously through text message and email, Duncan still chooses to write letters to friends and family and maintains a Christmas card list with each card personalized and signed by her, Northcutt said. This is something Northcutt has learned from her mother and has encouraged her daughters to do, even if it’s something as simple as a thank you card.
Duncan’s love for writing personal letters and even poetry was taken into consideration when Northcutt was planning her mother’s 100th birthday. Northcutt said she reached out to friends and family and asked that they write Duncan a letter. Hundreds were happy to oblige and letters have poured in from all over the United States, said Northcutt. Many of the submissions told Duncan just how much of an impact she had on their lives.
While aging has certainly limited Duncan in what she can and can’t do these days, she said one of the things she misses the most is driving. Duncan said she was driving until she was 98 years old, but had to give it up.
“I’d still drive if they let me,” Duncan said. “I was a good driver and mostly drove the speed limit.”
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