On Christmas Day, Martha Tinker Blewett will celebrate her 100th birthday. In some ways, Blewett's life will become the sum of 100 Christmas trees: a century of celebrations.

Unfazed by the novelty, the Center Township resident looked briefly at a birthday card last week from President Bush and the first lady. "Have you seen one of these?" she asked, dismissing the card toward a neat pile of papers.

"I got one last year," she said when asked if she planned to frame it.

"I'm not a national figure," she added, questioning why her life was worth noting.

Blewett's attention was instead caught by a white balloon that clung to the ceiling nearby. Propelled by the fan of her forced-air heater, Blewett observed the balloon had traveled to all corners of the small apartment since she brought it home just days earlier.

Somewhat spirited, the balloon at that moment seemed a little like Blewett, who has weathered 100 years with her faculties, independence and teeth intact.

TO BLEWETT,the reasons for her health and longevity are unexplained. But elements such as music, volunteer work and devotion to God have remained constant throughout her life.Blewett's son David, also of Center Township, points to diet as another possible factor. "A well-balanced diet and nothing between meals," he said, explaining his mother rarely eats snack foods sometimes offered by friends at Newhaven Court at Clearview, the assisted living facility where she resides."My dad had a big garden," Blewett attested, speculating fresh produce could have played a role."Mother was a good cook. She had been raised on a farm," she said. "None of us had stomach troubles. We didn't have any serious illnesses to speak of."Blewett's younger son, Dale, who lives in Cincinnati, also cites healthy eating when speaking of his mother. "Even when she was living (unassisted), you probably wouldn't find potato chips or candy (in her kitchen). Most of what she ate was good, healthy food, not junk food. She has probably never (had) soft drinks," he speculated.For Blewett, the church has also remained a constant, beginning with childhood memories of walking to services on snowy days and singing hymns as a family.Blewett also met her late husband, Guy Courtenay Blewett, through their common leadership activities with the Christian Endeavor youth program at Point Breeze Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.Not immediately aware of her leadership qualities, Blewett said she was surprised when asked to head up the program in the late 1920s after attending a convention at Penn State University.While a resident of St. Barnabas Village retirement community in Richland Township in the 1980s, Blewett was also approached to volunteer in the St. Barnabas nursing home's activities program, which she did for about 12 years.Becoming more animated as she spoke of helping others, Blewett described how the nursing home residents seemed to get satisfaction from participating in pastimes like stringing beaded necklaces."People were so thrilled and tickled that they had made something," she said. "Some were losing the motion of their hands, (but) they wanted to do it. They stuck with it until they got it."

BLEWETT'S MEMORIESof childhood also seem focused on others. Despite the many Christmases and birthdays she has experienced, Blewett has lost all recollection of gifts received.Instead, her most vivid memories are of serving others, of awaking early with her four siblings on Christmas mornings and preparing the table for their parents."It was a nice thing to do, to surprise mother and dad," Blewett recalled. "We just felt it was nice to have it ready for (them)."Blewett also recalled early morning walks to church during the Christmas season. "The snow was maybe 2 to 4 feet deep," she said."We'd try to walk in the tire tracks. There weren't that many cars on the road. We'd hope to get to church before getting out of the tracks. You wouldn't dare do that today," she said."On Sundays when we were walking in the tracks, the kids were bouncing all over the place - jumping from one track to another. But they didn't mind," she said.Blewett also remembers singing. "We'd just get together and have a sing-along," she said of a typical Sunday during her childhood."With the age range of kids, mother said we ought to do something (on Sundays). So we had our orchestra," she said, explaining a piano, organ and other instruments were typically part of the occasion.During the holiday season, Blewett said the music extended to singing Christmas carols and hymns that began in church. "When there was a program at church, we were still singing the same thing when we went home," she recalled.Blewett went on to study organ when she attended Erie State College in the 1920s, later continuing her love of music through church activities.Blewett's later Christmas memories centered on her own children. "We had to see Santa Claus," she said of their trips to downtown Pittsburgh each year on Black Friday, even though the children would be tired after a day in the city and then having to stand on the long bus ride home."It was always very interesting for about two weeks before Christmas," she said, describing how animated figures brought department store windows to life in the city. "Kaufmanns is the only one that's left," she lamented."We went to (Joseph) Hornes, Gimballs, Kaufmanns," echoed Blewett's daughter, Lynne Faridy of Levittown. "What was most amazing to us kids were the moving windows. … Even when we didn't believe in Santa Claus, mother always took us down to see the windows. They were so incredible, down to the last detail.""It was like cheap entertainment," Dale Blewett said of the annual outings. "Back then you didn't have a lot of the local stores. … It was not common for us as young people to go shopping." The trips would end with a stop at Donohue's bakery near East Liberty Presbyterian Church, he recalled.

CHRISTMAS THIS YEARwill be spent without much fanfare, said Blewett - her birthday having been celebrated in November, when the family members were all available to gather.David and his wife Nancy will dine with Blewett, but the recent centenarian will continue with her daily routine, which normally involves preparing her own breakfast, then joining friends for lunch and dinner in the Newhaven dining room.At 100, Blewett said her primary complaint involves her knees, which make it uncomfortable to be seated for lengths of time at the table."If it had a voice, it would be screaming at me," she said of the arthritis that plagues her."She has some health problems that are just nagging the dickens out of her, but I guess it's better to have a good mind," Faridy said of her mother's health status."One thing mother does do, if you're down in the dumps and you spend any time with mother, you're not down in the dumps anymore. Mother seems to elevate peoples' moods, and I think that's special," Faridy said."She's always cheerful, optimistic and rarely complains except about politicians in Washington. Mother keeps abreast of most current events, and she has some opinions about them," Faridy added."That's one of the first things people tell me when they meet me. 'You just have such a wonderful mind,'" Blewett said. "It sounds like they think I'm pretty special."