Hilda Martini has lived a long life. So long that she received a certificate of recognition from the Mayor of Alameda, celebrating her 100th birthday, on March 15.
Martini currently lives at Park Bridge Rehabilitation and Wellness, a skilled nursing facility that is part of Alameda Health System (AHS). And while she can’t hear as well as she used to and her memory is patchy, she is far more mobile than most people her age.
Her secret to living a long life?
“Potatoes,” she said during an interview in the facility’s Bay Room just before lunch time. Also, eating lots of vegetables is imperative, and don’t eat too much meat, she warned.
Exercise is also important. Martini said she used to go for walks around Lake Merritt, and also did gymnastics when she was younger.
Born in 1926, Martini is the eldest of six siblings, all of whom grew up in the town of Middlestum in Holland. One of her brothers later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, and then Martini and her sister Phyllis followed him there sometime in the 1960s, she estimates.
She lived in an apartment in Oakland and worked as a housekeeper in hotels and hospitals. Martini and her sister Phyllis were not just siblings, but also best friends.
Even though Martini was the oldest of her six siblings, she has since outlived all of them. She never had children of her own, but was close with her brother’s family, some of whom now live in Australia.
Although Martini has lived longer than her siblings, she is not the first in her family to live a long life. Her mother lived to be almost 100, and her father lived into his 80s.
Martini said she enjoys living at Park Bridge. The facility is one of four skilled nursing facilities run by AHS, which were recently recognized on Newsweek’s America’s Best Nursing Homes 2026 list and received a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for providing high-quality care.
This week, Park Bridge staff will gather to celebrate Martini’s birthday. They will present her with certificates to accompany the one from Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft. A special slideshow made by her family in Australia will be shown.
As for what her birthday wish is, Martini has one in mind. “Peace in the world,” she said.
Healthy Alameda is a healthcare column provided by Alameda Health System (AHS), the public safety-net health system that serves all in Alameda County. AHS operates five facilities in the City of Alameda, including Alameda Hospital, Creedon Advanced Wound Care Center, Park Bridge Rehabilitation and Wellness, South Shore Rehabilitation and Wellness, and Marina Wellness and Surgical Associates.
