Elva Keast may be getting old, but she has no plans of slowing down.

The Portage la Prairie resident and longtime community volunteer recently celebrated her 100th birthday. It's a milestone for many, but not a noteworthy accomplishment if you ask her. Why? Well, Keast stopped worrying about numbers over 20 years ago, and just wants to keep living life with the same mindset she's had.

"I don't think it's great to be 100 years, so I've always stayed at 79," Keast says. "I don't see a difference in being 100 and 79 ... I've been busy all my life."

Keast has always been an active community volunteer. She's spent time working with the Legion and Rebekahs, and still helps out regularly at MCC Portage. Don't expect that to change anytime soon, she loves being involved too much to give it up.

"I enjoy doing it. I like being busy, I can't stand sitting around doing nothing," Keast says. "I've been busy all my life, and that's the way I want it."

Keast was raised a small farm and is the oldest sibling in her family. She says her family helped build a ski trail near Rossendale close to the river that is still used today by hundreds of people each year. She used to ski it a lot, but hasn't been able to maintain that hobby because of declining vision. But she doesn't worry about that. Along with keeping busy with her volunteer work, she keeps up with other hobbies. Anything to avoid sitting around.

"I do different crafts and different things like that. I make different things. I put a tape in and listen to different stories and that is quite good," Keast says. "(But) I hate sitting here for an hour or two listening to a (tape). I'd rather be doing something listening to it. So I get up and walk around a lot, but I enjoy the tapes and stories of people."

Contrary to more popular opinion among the aging population, Keast doesn't think the world has changed much at all in her 100 years. She lives by the old adage "life is what you make of it," and her world has always been enjoyable.

"I think life today is really great, and as I grow older I enjoy life," she says. "I don't think it's too busy or too crazy. It was probably just as bad when I was one-year-old as now that I'm 100-years-old."

"It's people that make the difference," Keast continues. "Some people did have to work and enjoyed working and helping one another. I don't know that they do so much today ... but I can't see that there is any difference."