LAKE ASBURY— Throughout her 100 years on Earth, Mary Kallas has seen it all. 

She remembers when the first television made its debut, and the times when she would don paper shoes on her feet.

She even remembers seeing hitchhiking soldiers after the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the introduction of rationing.

"I'm just happy I've made it."

Kallas celebrated her milestone birthday on Thursday, Feb. 5. She said she had family members fly from as far as Arizona to be with her.

Having a healthy bone structure and an active lifestyle are two things that Kallas said is her secret to making it this far.

"If I have anything wrong, I get it fixed," she said.

A former avid reader and ballroom dancer, as she's gotten older she said her hobbies have changed. But, nonetheless, they have kept her up and on her feet.  Take, for instance, playing a game of 8-ball on her classic pool table.

Kallas was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Fullerton. After she graduated high school, she wanted to join the Navy. But, due to her young age, she wasn't able to enlist.

 "When I graduated high school, I was only 17."

While in college, she worked at a plant during World War II. There, she was not "Rosie the Riveter," but rather "Susie the Solderer."

During the height of the war, she worked for a Douglas Aircraft Company plant. She soldered radio jack boxes for Douglas C-47 Skytrains, much like the plane that was restored at Camp Blanding last September.

She had followed in the footsteps of her mother who had worked there also. After her classes, she would walk four blocks to the plant. 

It was a way to make some extra money.

"People of all ages, over 18, worked there because they needed those jack boxes.  And that's why I went there. It was local and it was good money."

After their shifts, the women, she said, would go to the United Service Organization's (USO) dances.

"We'd go to a USO dance and dance the rest of the night, having a good time dancing with the soldiers."

She had several "boyfriends" she would write to. She never knew much about the bad parts of the war because information in their letters was always redacted.

"Loose lips sink ships," she said. "They didn't want anything getting out to the enemy."

After the war ended in 1945, she moved on to working retail in her father's store. She stayed in California until 1960. After the passing of her husband, she lived there as a single mother of two young girls.  Following her move to the Jacksonville area, she began working at a paper mill.

She settled in Lake Asbury three years ago. 

"My daughter has brought me home and has taken good care of me. She's been an excellent caregiver."

In addition to her daughters, Kallas has three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, all of whom will be celebrating with her for a special party on Saturday.