Smith: Art Janssen is 105 and remembers everything

Even when he was 104, Art Janssen was almost certainly the oldest man in Sonoma County. And Thursday he turns 105.

It’s remarkable that the native Santa Rosan and mid-1950s mayor of Sebastopol has lived more than 38,000 days. And it’s purely astonishing that he seems to remember what happened during each of the 55-plus million minutes.

“I was born on the corner of Rutledge and Ware, kitty-corner to the South Park School,” Art said at his room at a Santa Rosa care home. Smiling along with memories, he recalled that as a kid, circa 1915, he was subjected to weekend concerts at the bandstand on the Fourth Street side of Courthouse Square.

“A fellow the name of Scott, Charles Scott, was the band leader,” Art said. “My mother and sister would march me up there and we’d sit and listen to that band.”

He rattled off the names of all his teachers at the former Santa Rosa Junior High and recounted the consequence of his dropping out of Santa Rosa High in 1926: “I spent five days and five nights in jail!”

Art thought back, too, to one of his early jobs, reading aloud the day’s Press Democrat to blind columnist and state lawmaker Herbert Slater, who was elected to the Senate 100 years ago this year. He recalls Slater telling him, “You’re a good reader, but don’t talk so loud. I’m not deaf!”

Born just six years after the inaugural World Series of 1903, Art recalled that someone at the PD would place a radio out in front of the newspaper and up would pull Grace Bros. Brewery co-owner Frank Grace in his Cadillac. Grace and his son, Frank Jr. “would park in front of the building and listen to the game.”

All these decades later, Art is aware that there’s a robust debate in town over the City Council’s plan to restore Old Courthouse Square to a true, non-bisected town square. How do you suppose the 105-year-old son of Santa Rosa feels about the idea?

“I’d love to see that,” Art said. “Just let ‘em drive around it.”

LEYTE GULF on your mind this week? That area of the Philippine Sea, the scene 70 years ago of one of largest and most destructive naval battles in history, visits Amelia Hutto’s thoughts just now.

This is the first time in many decades that the Santa Rosan has been alone for the anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, at which U.S. and Australian forces broke the back of the Japanese Imperial Navy.

Amelia’s husband, John, was 97 when he died last April. Almost exactly 70 years ago, he exhibited such valor at the controls of a Hellcat fighter, helping to attack and shoot tactically important photographs of the doomed Japanese super-battleship Musashi, that he was awarded the Navy Cross.

“He wasn’t a real big man,” his widow said. “but he wasn’t shy about doing what he had to do.”

Chris Smith is at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.