Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was the site of a birthday party for a Boothbay woman on Saturday, May 21.

Valerie Smith, Boothbay's oldest resident, turns 100 on May 25. She was surprised by around 70 family members and friends in the Bosarge Educational Center at the gardens at around 1:30 p.m.

The party was planned by Valerie's son, Joe Jackimovicz and his wife Ruthie, and granddaughter Kara Roach and her wife Mary. Kara and Mary's son, Elliot, provided much of the entertainment and kept everyone on high alert. The party was catered by CMBG café manager Amy Williams.

Guests of friends or family members who hadn't yet met Valerie were almost as surprised as she was when she walked into the room. “100 years old?” they were saying. “She doesn't look a day over 75!” She doesn't use a cane or a walker, and she's sharp as a tack.

According to a presentation given by Kara and Ruthie, Valerie's parents, Josef and Beatrice, met on a ship as they were immigrating from Lithuania in 1912. They were married in 1914 and lived in Stoughton, Massachusetts. They had three daughters, Pauline, Valerie and Josephine.

“A lot of monumental events have taken place in this country and the world over the past 100 years that Valerie has lived through; we will try not to dwell on the negative,” Ruth said at the start of the presentation.

Some of the things that were happening in the world the year Valerie was born, 1916, were:

-Woodrow Wilson was president.

-Europe was enveloped in the Great War.

-Oxycodone was synthesized in Germany.

-There were only silent movies. Charlie Chaplin starred in eight of them.

-The only way to listen to music was on wind-up Victrolas, or live at Vaudeville shows. The radio had not been invented.

-Telephones were scarce. Only a few homes had them.

-Average pay was $15/week.

-The hamburger bun was created.

-Celebrities (other than Valerie Smith) born in 1916: Jackie Gleason, Dinah Shore, Gregory Peck, Walter Cronkite and Kirk Douglas.

In summary, according to the timeline presented at the birthday party, “in Valerie’s 100 years her life has spanned 17 presidents, two World Wars, a number of lesser wars, a Great Depression, a number of recessions, a presidential assassination, the nuclear age, the space age, the coming of television, terrorist attacks, rock and roll, the Beatles, a number of hurricanes and numerous snow storms.”

And in 1928 sliced bread was introduced to the world — making Valerie older than sliced bread.

One memory of Valerie's that has stuck with her through the years: In the ’20s, her father had a still operating on the kitchen table in South Boston for a year or so. He sold the alcohol.

In September 2010 Valerie moved to Sawyer’s Island to live with Joe, who has lived here since around 1975, and his wife Ruthie.

Among other family members who attended the surprise party were Valerie's grandson, Alex Jackimovicz and his son Adam, and her sister Josephine Zeles, 94, along with her two sons and their families, who came from Colorado and Illinois.

Lots of familiar faces from the Boothbay community were there along with Valerie's family members, including her breakfast companions from Baker's Way. Duane Pinkham, who was at the party with his wife, Mary, said Valerie loves to eat. “She has the best appetite of all of us. She eats a whole omelette or breakfast sandwich most every day.” Other friends present from the breakfast club were Betty and Ed Shaw and Mike Fritz, and Baker’s Way owner Hang Nguyen and her daughter Chau.

A friend of Valerie’s, Lucille Machon, 99, who graduated from Boothbay Region High School 82 years ago, in 1934, was there with her son Ira and his wife Connie. “I've lived here for 99 years and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else,” Machon said.

After the presentation, which included a slide show of snapshots from Valerie’s life, she was presented with 100 long-stemmed red roses and a card from President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, followed by a champagne toast.