A CENTURY OF LIFE

As Victoria Ragone sat underneath a small white tent with flags of the United States and Italy behind her, she had no idea the surprise her niece, Nicolena Barone, had orchestrated for her 100th birthday celebration.

A parade, led by a horse and buggy and followed by 45 cars, wrapped around the street corner, many flanked with homemade signs and filled with excited longtime friends and family members on the warm Aug. 2 afternoon. An ice cream truck followed suit for the grandchildren, promptly parked outside of her daughter’s home.

Ragone, whose official birthday was Aug. 3, began to weep as well-wishers in cars made their way to the front of her tent, many pausing for a moment to wish her a happy birthday, wave and hand off balloons, a card and flowers to various relatives nearby. Her three children — Judy Ragone Guthrie, Kris Ragone Brennan and Tom Ragone — stood by next to her, identifying each person as they drove by. Ragone’s six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren took turns giving out celebratory water bottles to each car in the Niskayuna neighborhood.

On her lap lay one of the 100 or so baptismal blankets she has crocheted over the years.

“Even if it’s hot, my mother will wear blankets no matter what,” Ragone Guthrie said.

Still crocheting, Ragone, who is affectionately known to many as “Aunt Vicky,” also donates her blankets to the Rosary Guild Society, Christ Child Society for Unwed Mothers and the Annual Family Festival at the parish she’s attended over the last 20 years, Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Albany.

Ragone, who also received a proclamation from the Colonie Town Supervisor Paula Mahan recognizing her living 100 years in the town, said her secret to living a long life could have something to do with her ferocious appetite for good food, that, and staying active.

“I’m always busy,” said Ragone, recalling her response to a doctor who asked her what her secret was to a long life. “And I said well, maybe that’s the answer.”

To this day she still makes traditional Italian meals, including homemade meatballs, lasagna and stuffed peppers for her family; delicacies many of her children and grandchildren cherish.