'We just went on and on': Love, play, war, and a century of living

The first thing I notice about Vic and Jean Arnold’s home are the chairs. Two living room chairs: one soft pink and high-backed, low to the ground for easy access; the other deep brown and plush, with an electric mechanism to raise and lower the seat.

I’ve never seen them before, but the chairs feel familiar. They, and the bowl of Werther’s Originals on the table, are a sign that I will get exactly what I have come here for: stories of “the olden days” from two people who were there to see them.

Vic turns off the television—a news station covering the American election—and slowly gets out of the brown chair to greet me. Shoulders hunched, he shuffles across the room to shake my hand. Jean emerges from the bedroom a moment later, pausing to pepper her comparatively young friend Dave Dayton with pleasant inquiries.

In August, Dave—a friendly bridge competitor of the Arnolds—had emailed a picture of the couple to The Current. Jean had just turned 100 years old. Her husband had recently celebrated his 101st birthday. And together, the couple will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary next summer.

I knew I needed to meet them.

With Dave’s help, we arranged a time to meet and chat about the events and changes they, and Abbotsford, have seen over a century of living.