At 104 years old, Mary Taylor of Cortez has experienced this astonishing march of technological progress, plus a lot more, since her earliest memory as a pioneer child 100 years ago.

"I remember some early scenes as a very small child when my family moved in covered wagons from Arkansas to a homestead in Oklahoma around 1900," she recalled from her home at the Madison House in Cortez. "There were other wagons and families around, and I have a fond memory of being so glad to see other children my age and size. We all had so much fun playing together in some nearby ponds, and in the wagons. Then we would all camp for the night."

Born in Arkansas on April 27, 1895, Mrs. Taylor is one of a small group of local citizens whose lifetimes now span three separate centuries. She is the oldest person alive in Montezuma County, and is a longtime local, arriving here in 1917 as a 22-year-old. Blessed with a vivid memory and a sharp presence of mind, Mrs. Taylor took the time recently to look back on her life as a farmer and teacher, and then offered some perceptive predictions for the third millennium.

Cheap land and wide-open spaces drew her family to the Cahone area, where her father farmed and was the postmaster. The arduous trip from Oklahoma was by wagon train via the Overland Trail. She remembers that when they arrived in Cortez in 1917, only the newspaper and the flour mill had electricity, and that the "mud in the streets was real bad — knee-deep for horses." Later Mary and her two brothers and three sisters settled in McElmo Canyon, where their father had purchased a ranch and house for $6,000 in 1925.

She married in 1925 and raised one boy.

"My husband was a gambler and when we came out ahead we saved it up until we had enough to buy a new Ford car for $800 in 1926, which my dad converted into a pick-up," she said.

"Nobody traveled far in those cars back then because the railroad was easier than driving roads that were very muddy and rough. But for the farm, it changed everything," she said. "I still remember how the back would be filled up with tomatoes and melons at harvest."

Communities were all connected by an elaborate railroad system known as the Enchanted Circle. With stops at Telluride, Rico, Dolores, Mancos and Hesperus (via the Rio Grande Southern or DRGW) travel by rail was not just efficient transport but a door of opportunity also.

"I never took to farming real well; it just did not suit me. So I became a teacher at the Lavender School in Disappointment Valley after taking my tests at Fort Lewis," Taylor said. "I remember riding the (Rio Grande Southern) down to Hesperus for the training and to receive my certificate.

"Other times we would meet friends in Dolores and ride the Galloping Goose (rail car) up to Telluride. I really love those views of the mountains."

Oil and gas development in the 1940s and ’50s opened up more roads in the region from the south and contributed to an economic boom here. That improved access is also what prompted the "Californication" of Colorado.

"Some came and built large houses, but they couldn’t tough it out too well," she said with a wry smile.

Education was more basic during her teaching career in the 1920s and ’30s and a lot less overwhelming than in today’s fast-paced Information Age.

"Today’s kids need to remember more. When we would hear a piece of news as students, it would be studied and thought about a lot — memorized. Nowadays there is so much news that it becomes almost meaningless."

Mrs. Taylor predicts that the earth will soon run out of the finite amount of fossil fuels that we have come to depend on for energy.

"The world is using so much gasoline, but what will happen when it is all gone?" she asked. "It will play out one day at the rate it is being used up."

Does that mean a return to the horse and buggy?

"People nowadays couldn’t take it," she laughed. "It was a pretty tough time in those days."

What’s her secret to such a long life? Forget the old ’60s lyric that "too much of everything is just enough." Moderation is the key, she advises.

"I’ve lived through an entire century plus part of two others and its been a good life. I’ve never been too sick. Taking care of your body and not overworking is important. I say take a break when you get tired; people just don’t do that anymore. Also cigarettes and liquor are not good, but a little bit every once in a while is OK."

Other centenarians in Montezuma County are Naomi Rice, 100, and John Cody, 100. Mrs. Rice resides at the Mancos Valley Inn, where she is known as a talented musician. She still occasionally plays the piano and harmonica, sometimes at the same time. A couple of her favorite tunes are "Tennessee Waltz" and "Show Me the Way Home."

"I mostly like playing jazz, and dancing," she said recently.

Mrs. Rice also recalled the wagon days during her childhood when the family would travel from her home in Woodland Park, Colo. to visit friends in Colorado Springs. "It was a very rough 20 miles through the beautiful mountains. When the train came, I remember thinking, `Well this is certainly new!’"

Her advice: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. "I’ve lived by those words."

Mr. Cody was born in Moody, Texas, Dec. 5, 1899. He settled in Dove Creek in 1929 and soon moved to Cortez where he still resides. During a recent birthday celebration he shared stories of his life. One particular one relates how he bought a Ford Model T in 1918 for $15 from a chap who had just crashed it into a ditch while he followed on a horse. The roll-over ripped off the roof, but Mr. Cody preferred the convertible look. "Never did get that fixed," he said.