Leap Year Baby Celebrating 80th Year … Or Is It Only 20th?

A leap year birthday has been an inconvenience for most of Virginia Hansen’s 80 years. Official documents are usually buried in a hole under the 366th day, and the Department of Licensing never sends a renewal notice in the mail.

And as a young woman growing up in Hillyard, she got teased when she tried to get into a bar. “They’d say, ‘We can’t give you any because you’re only a five-year-old’,” said Hansen.

But as a child, a leap year birthday was a special treat. Her parents used to fight over when to celebrate her birthday on non-leap years. Mom said March 1, Dad argued for February 28.

“So I got twice the presents, a check from Dad and a check from Mom,” said Hansen, born in 1916.

On her second real birthday, she went to a Spokane Chronicle Leap Year birthday party at the downtown Casino Theater. Hansen remembers the trip from Hillyard taking “all day” in a Ford Model T, wearing a pink organdy dress with a huge pink bow in her hair and eating ice cream.

“I didn’t want to leave. You know kids - a party can never last too long,” Hansen said.

But her fourth birthday was the most memorable. Because it was a special occasion, her mother let her wear a little bit of lipstick and drive the Model T.

Hansen graduated from Rogers High School in one of the school’s first classes and spent three years in nursing school at the now-defunct Holy Names College.

On weekends, she and her friends would take nickel street car rides downtown to watch “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” at the Orpheum Theater. After the show got out at 10:30 p.m., the street car drivers would help the girls make their 11 p.m. curfew by skipping stops.

She became an obstetrics nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital and stayed in the profession for 45 years. Renewing her nursing license was a big inconvenience because the state nursing office was never sure if her birthday was filed under February 28 or March 1.

When she herself gave birth - Hansen and her husband have four children - she would take two weeks off and then go back to work.

“That was just what you did in those days,” she said.

One of her favorite things about nursing was seeing how the babies grew up. She would see the babies she helped bring into the world having children of their own.

“I’d go back now if I thought I could,” Hansen said.

She now lives in Chattaroy with her husband. Her youngest daughter lives next door, and her 10 grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren, most of whom live in Spokane, visit often.

Her entire family threw her a surprise 19th birthday party in 1992, with relatives flying in from Western Washington.

She is still recovering from breaking her neck last spring after tripping over her dog. She said the past year has been difficult, but her life has been very blessed.

“Life wouldn’t be pleasant if the good times didn’t come, if you didn’t have the struggles to set them off,” Hansen said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo