Jun. 14—JULIAETTA — Wayne Main, a Juliaetta resident who celebrates his 100th birthday today, does not bother making plans.
“I haven’t made them for a long time,” he said. “Whatever comes up, comes up.”
Given how independent Main is, he can likely handle whatever comes his way.
Main lives on his own in a house along Idaho Highway 3, takes care of his own lawn, works in his shop and helps out local farmers when they call.
He is not one to sit idle for long.
“Some people say, ‘I just don’t have a thing to do,’ ” he said. “All they have to do is look around — there is always lots to do.”
The only type of work he doesn’t like to do is cooking, he said.
Main — whose full name is Willard LaWayne Main — was born in Pendleton, Ore., but spent most of his life around the Palouse. He has made a living working with his hands.
He was raised on a farm in Palouse. Later he spent some time as a mechanic in Moscow, but wanted to be his own boss. So, he began to work independently as a logger in Bovill for 15 years.
Life had different plans for him, because he was struck by a tree while logging, which laid him up for an entire summer. A doctor told him not to go back into the woods.
The Troy School District at that time desperately needed a bus driver and mechanic. So, the superintendent called Main with an offer and he accepted.
“I went to work and ended up there 15 years,” he said.