Harold MacNeice is turning 100. The lifelong Yakima Valley resident hasn't been wearing his traditional tartan -- the MacNeices are connected with the MacGregor clan -- for quite that long. But almost.
MacNeice, who's proud of his Scottish descent, doesn't don the plaid kilt and sash across his shoulder every day, only on special occasions, like meeting former first lady Rosalynn Carter back on May 18, 1992 -- one day before his 83rd birthday -- at a reception hosted by the Junior League at the Yakima Valley Museum.
Turning 100 is a special occasion. This weekend, MacNeice will be the guest of honor at a party in Yakima. Anyone who's ever known him is invited.
And you can bet he'll be there, front and center, in his proud Scotsman's attire, complete with a Scottish knife in his right sock. (He'll take it out and show you -- just ask.)
He wore this traditional garb last week at the monthly birthday party for residents of Yakima's Sun Tower Retirement Home, where he's lived for 20 years. At that event, as he does for all May birthdays, he read a few vignettes -- song lyrics, a saying, a joke -- announcing before he began, "My ancestors came from proud Scotsmen."
Holding his notes in one hand and his cane in the other, he repeated a 1968 quote from the African naturalist Baba Dioum: "In the end, we will only conserve what we love. We will only love what we understand. We will only understand what we are taught."
He wasn't sure where he had found the quote, handwritten on a 3-by-5 card, but he liked it and wanted to share it. Approaching the century mark, he's a bit shaky at times and his hearing isn't what it used to be. But so what? He's still here. And he's still smiling.
Fellow Sun Tower residents say he's a sharp dresser, particularly on Sundays.
"He looks like a lot of fun," says 76-year-old Norma Clark.
Sometimes, he'll still dance a few steps, just like the old days when he was an avid dancer with the Seattle Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. Back then -- oh, about 30 or 40 years ago, he says -- he'd head over the pass about once a week -- or was it once a month? -- to dance jaunty jigs, stirring reels, or snappy strathspeys.
Now, he's looking forward to Saturday's open house.
"I'm excited," he says, grinning widely. "I got a letter from the governor. I got a letter from the president."
He might also try a shot at dancing.
"I can do it if I stand up long enough," he says.
James Harold MacNeice was born May 19, 1908, in Prosser. Later, the family moved to Outlook. In the early 1920s, MacNeice's dad took a job working in the tunnel of the Rimrock Dam, which was under construction. For several months, the family lived in a tent without electricity and plumbing.
In his early 20s, in Depression-era Yakima, MacNeice became a motorcycle messenger, often delivering to businesses on Front Street. To this day, he loves motorcycles and enjoys watching parades on Yakima Avenue just to check out the bikes. But he gave up his motorcycle when he got married. Traded in the bike -- a Harley-Davidson -- for a wife.
"Sold it and got married," he says.
MacNeice met and married Eina Lemke in June 1934. They were married for 52 years before she died of cancer in 1986. A couple of years later, he moved into Sun Tower.
MacNeice and his wife worked for Harold H. Schultz Furniture in Yakima for a few years before opening their own floor-covering business in 1953. They closed it in 1975 when they retired.
They enjoyed attending Scottish events, the Yakima Symphony Orchestra and traveling in their RV. They were also able to travel to Scotland before Eina died.
They had two children, a boy and a girl. Their son, a pilot, lives in Tennessee. Their daughter died in 2000 of cancer. They have seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
"I am proud to call him 'Grandfather,' and he's probably the most decent, honest man I'll ever have the privilege knowing," says his granddaughter, Christine Rodriguez, who lives on the west side. "I can't brag enough about him."
* If you go
What: 100th birthday party for Harold MacNeice
When: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Wesley United Methodist Church, 14 N. 48th Ave.
Who: Old friends, colleagues and family
For more information, call Christine Rodriguez at 253-569-3813.
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