When Beatrice Sola was asked what the one thing she wanted for
her 100th birthday was, she replied
”
tequila.
”
When Beatrice Sola was asked what the one thing she wanted for her 100th birthday was, she replied “tequila.”
Her god-daughter Diana Singh said her appetite for the party lifestyle isn’t something new.
“For her 99th birthday she wanted a cigarette and a beer,” she said.
Bea will get her wish when family and friends gather for her 100th birthday party this Saturday at Dona Esther’s in San Juan Bautista.
Born April 17, 1904, she grew up in the tiny mining settlement of New Idria, southwest of Panoche Hills. Growing up with 12 sisters and brothers, Bea attended school in a tiny school house with 20 to 30 kids in the entire school. During her younger years, Bea worked at the cannery in Hollister, and during her off time, she enjoyed living life on the wild side.
“One time she and my mother drank a bit too much wine and when they were on their way to a dance it was raining and they lost their shoes in the mud,” Rose Stephens said.
Stephen’s mother, Carmen Valdez, and Bea were good friends. She has fond memories of the two of them gallivanting around town and always hitting up the local bingo parlor.
“They would stop by my house every Friday night for pancakes and then go play bingo,” she said. “Bea likes to gamble.”
A woman who enjoyed smoking unfiltered cigarettes religiously and heading to Reno to gamble, Bea made having fun a priority in life.
“I liked to dance, drink and ride horseback,” she said.
She was married to Victor Solo for 15 years but didn’t have any children.
Now only a day away from the century mark, she’s slowed down a bit, but said she’s still very happy.
“She is such a sweet person and always so jolly,” Stephens said.
