(Enlarge) William Howard Taft had just taken the oath of office as President of the United States when Marie Robins Tennyson was born in Baltimore in 1909. (Staff photo by Alex Stawinski)

The secret of reaching 100 is contentment.

That's the advice from Marie Robbins Tennyson, who has lived in the same Linover house since 1942.

"Peace. The Lord gave it to me," she said.

"And, not always wanting more than you can afford," she added.

Make that contentment and an optimistic outlook -- both of which she seems to have taught her six children, 14 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

The family gathered three months in advance of Tennyson's 100th birthday, coming on Feb. 9, for a celebration at Pappas Restaurant in Parkville.

"We weren't worried at all (about the honoree not reaching the milestone). We just thought the weather could be bad in February, so we had it in early November," said Janet Tennyson Janyska, the youngest daughter, a resident of Linthicum.

Both Janyska and her sister Carole Tennyson Van Vranken, of Missouri, were at the cozy bungalow on Brookwood Avenue in late January as their mother talked about the wood stove she tended at the now-vanished Putty Hill School and other memories.

She had moved out from Baltimore to the Overlea area with her family.

In third grade, the First World War was waging and the Red Cross asked volunteers to knit scarves, hats and socks for soldiers overseas.

"My mother was too busy, so I asked her to teach me. My teacher gave me a pound of wool, and I started knitting," she said.

But no one had told her when to stop; the scarf turned out 18 inches wide and so long the teacher asked if Marie had intended to make two.

Needlework continued throughout her life. The daughters estimated she has completed 40-50 afghans, at least one for every descendant, including a new baby born in the fall.

After sixth grade, Tennyson left school to help her mother "raise all the babies."

Sometime in her teens, she got one of the few paying jobs in her life.

"I got $10 a month for taking out the ashes, starting the fire and cleaning Putty Hill School every day," she said.

It was a one-room school at Fitch Avenue and Ridge Road, she recalled.

At age 17, she married Edgar Russell Tennyson, an agent for Railway Express, and the two began raising their own family of six. Her husband died in 1979, and five children survive.

At age 33, she moved into the then-new house on Brookwood. She is the last of the original owners, she said.

"Can you imagine? Six kids and one bathroom," Van Vranken said.

"They had to learn to share. Kids should not be spoiled," the centenarian said.

Both daughters said their mother was the disciplinarian.

Though she spanked offenders on occasion, Tennyson was mainly "good and steady, constant and consistent," Syneska said.

During World War II, "half the backyard was a Victory Garden, and Mom preserved lots of fruits and vegetables," Janyska said.

The daughters also remembered bringing in frozen laundry from a backyard line, using a wringer washer and their mother's favorite maxim -- "tell the truth."

"She was also good at making school costumes on short notice. I remember one time she made me into a crepe-paper tomato," Janyska said.

Socially, Tennyson got together for needlework parties with other Linover women and was active with the Lutheran Church Women of St. Peter's in Fullerton.

Her multiple talents included living alone independently until the last few months, when orthopedic problems emerged.

Sons Ed Tennyson, of Overlea, and Frank Tennyson, of Carroll County, visited daily to check on her. Future arrangements are uncertain.

Asked what her favorite memories are, she mentioned the safe return from military service of her three sons.

The best moments?

"We enjoyed so many of them, I couldn't even pinpoint, because we were happy."

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