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COUNTRY ALMANAC Cabin-mates have a system Photo by Jim Craven Harriett Rex Smith, 77, left, Hazel Hannell, 102, and Mary Ellen Thompson, 63, rely on dice and companionship to keep their mountain cabin running smoothly. Friendship and a roll of the dice keep things in proper order By PAUL FATTIG GREENSPRINGS -- Today, Hazel Hannell is the boss. True, at nearly 103 years old, her experience reigns over that of her younger roommates. But it isn't seniority that rules this spacious mountain cabin. It's the democracy of the dice. When Hannell rolled the dice the evening before, she won more games than her roommates. House rules give her the right to call the shots the following day. "I haven't done very well, bossing them around," Hennell says with a sigh. "But I'm supposed to be the boss today." This comfortable cabin with its large studio perched at 4,500 feet above sea level houses nearly 250 years of life. Hannell will be 103 on Dec. 31. Roommates Harriett Rex Smith and Mary Ellen Thompson are mere kids, 77 and 63 respectively. Smith, a high school student when she met nationally known artist Hannell and her late artist husband in Indiana, bought the property 20 years ago. Hannell, who originally helped Smith -- also an acclaimed artist -- select the parcel, moved in a decade ago. And their friend Thompson joined them four years ago. They tossed in the dice game they call "zonk" to help avoid conflict, Smith explains. "It's kind of a joke, but it serves a purpose," she says. "We were aware that three women living together, all of whom are terribly independent, could have problems. "In order to stop them from growing into big problems, we do the dice," she adds. Smith raised seven children, largely by herself. Thompson reared three in the same fashion. "When you do that, you become bossy," Smith says. But their lives aren't restricted to rolling the ivory. Smith and Hannell continue to paint. An annual art exhibit featuring their work will be held Nov. 29 at the nearby Greensprings Inn. One painting Smith is working on reveals a panorama of "Jim's Better Buys." Eight rather dilapidated vehicles are lined up under the glittering "M33" galaxy. "I've done about 40 paintings with an astronomy theme tied to Earth," she says. "It's an effort to say, `This is real. This is out there. This is endless creativity."' Indeed, creativity thrives in this cabin. Even as the snow flies outside, Hannell's flowers bloom on canvas. Thompson's art gleams from shelves in the kitchen in the form of canned peaches, pears and tomatoes. There are also jams and jellies galore. "They used to be hid in boxes and closets," Smith says. "We decided we ought to display them because they are so beautiful." As snow falls outside, the three women and their guests drink steaming hot coffee or tea and munch on Thompson's peanut butter cookies. Penny, a tawny cat rescued from the shelter, pads about before sprawling under an easy chair. "She's a Himalayan," Smith observes. "I think she's a Himalayan mix," Thompson says. "A purebred has a pushed-in nose, like a Pekingese." "No, they don't," Smith says. "Yes, they do," Thompson says. "No, they don't -- I looked them up in a book," Smith responds, then adds, "Geez, bossy. See." With that, all three women burst into laughter, filling the cabin with their hearty chuckles. Once a month, the Greensprings Book Club meets at the cabin where members pore over books like "The Self-Aware Universe" by Amit Goswami, Ph.D. "This guy -- he's good," Smith says. "His whole idea is the reconciliation of quantum mechanics and classical physics, showing how they are both true and interact with one another." Spring and summer find them in their flower garden. Vegetables don't grow well at this elevation, they lament. "But all of us like to garden -- that's our gym," Smith says. "When I hear people going on treadmills and things, I always think, `My goodness, they could be hauling manure."' A former chairwoman of the Friends of the Greensprings, Thompson, who raised her three children in Ashland, notes the cabin-mates are all community activists with a love of nature. "Hazel was an activist when she was a young woman in Chicago," Thompson says. "Without asking her father's permission, she marched for women's rights. That's amazing, when you think about it." For Thanksgiving, the three plan a feast for relatives, several who live nearby. They will make holiday wreaths for visiting family and friends. Smith, her tongue partially in cheek, wonders aloud about the December holiday. "Christmas, now that it's starting before Halloween, maybe it ought to be held every two years," Smith says. "That would make it really special." Thompson, who offers jelly and other canned goods for the holidays, agrees. "I really resent the commercialization of Christmas," she says. "We need to resist the whole commercial thing." For a moment, they fall silent, watching the snow falling past the windows. "We try to enjoy life," Smith says. "We've all been around long enough to know that it should be appreciated." Even on those days when the dice doesn't roll in their favor. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA