Fort Smith native Ted Gann will turn 80 on Feb. 29, and in a way, he'll still be too young to purchase alcohol, rent most hotel rooms and enter most casinos.

The "Leap Year baby" is so excited to spend his unique birthday date with his wife, Carolyn, their two children and other relatives that he's already started wearing one of his 2020 birthday presents. The gift, which was given to Ted early by his daughter, Deborah, is a soft, blue T-shirt that reads "The Man, The Myth, The Legend: Born on Feb. 29." The shirt accentuates Ted's relaxed, neighborly nature, and it makes him and his wife smile.

"Yes, I'm ready for my 20th birthday party," Ted Gann said before laughing.

Like every year, Ted and his son, Steve, will celebrate their birthdays together with more than 20 relatives on Feb. 29 inside Ted's home. Steve, who is 52, was born on Feb. 28 and in recent years has "hijacked" Ted's homemade birthday cake, Carolyn said.

"I used to make peanut butter cake for my husband's birthday, but Steve took over that cake; peanut butter cake is now Steve's choice for a birthday cake," she said while smiling and glancing at Ted. "So now I make what I call an earthquake cake for my husband's birthday."

"That's right, we've never gotten a store-bought cake," Ted added in a proud tone. "She makes all of the birthday cakes for the family. They're really good cakes."

Carolyn started to reveal part of her secret cake recipe — it has a German chocolate base and includes coconut and numerous other ingredients — before Ted playfully interjected.

"Oh no, oh no," he said in a mock shout. "You can't tell all about your secret recipe. Not now."

Ted and Carolyn recently celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary. The two have nine grandchildren and are expecting their 10th great-grandchildren in the summer.

"We don't have a lot of fine art hanging on our walls," Carolyn said before Ted nodded in agreement. "We have a lot of family photos on our walls instead. Family and God are important to us."

Ted was born to parents Ted and Marcia Gann inside Mercy Fort Smith when it was still called St. Edward Hospital.

"I don't think my parents has planned on having me on Feb. 29," Ted said. "It just happened that way."

Ted attended Belle Point Elementary School before becoming a student at Ramsey Junior High School. He also was a student at Fort Smith High School, which is now Northside High School, and decided to join the U.S. Air Force when he was still 17. Ted served four years in the Air Force, enjoying his non-combat duty at Roswell, N.M. and Bitburg, Germany.

"I thought it was so great that Ted, after he was in the Air Force, went back and got his GED," Carolyn said.

Ted and Carolyn both joke about the length of time they enjoyed pre-marriage courtship. Their first date happened on July 5, 1961, and involved chilled Coca-Cola drinks and a lot of smiles at Beverly's Drive-Inn on Towson Avenue. Less than three months later, the two were married in front of more than 200 relatives and friends at First Assembly of God Church, which later became Evangel Temple.

"We knew each other growing up; we went to the same church, but we never dated until later," Carolyn said. "When Ted came back from the Air Force, I think he still thought I was a little kid."

When Ted saw Carolyn for the first time after exiting the Air Force, he didn't recognize his childhood friend.

"I asked a girl, 'Who is that?'" Ted said. "The girl told me, 'That is my sister, and you better stay away from her!'"

Ted and Carolyn then laughed at the memory.

"Well, Ted did look like a hoodlum," she said jokingly. "Ted was wearing a leather jacket."

During many of his post-military days, Ted kept busy working for various local construction companies. He helped build new homes and took a job at Norge Refrigerator Co., which later became Whirlpool Corp. in Fort Smith. Ted enjoyed working and staying active, but a serious back injury and what he calls a "failed back surgery" forced him into early retirement. Ted was still in his late 40s at that time.

"I fell through a floor, so I had to quit work for good," he said. "I went on disability."

Until recently, Ted was able to enjoy fishing at Kerr Lake, among other areas. During one of his fishing adventures back in the 1990s, Ted and a friend caught a 70-pound flathead catfish, as well as a 49-pound catfish and a 51-pound catfish.

"Oh yes, that kept our freezer full of fish," said Carolyn.

Although he doesn't punch a work clock or spend much time with a fishing pole, Ted stays active at Mercy Fitness. He spends 40 minutes every day at the gym, keeping his muscles limber and strong via exercise machines that simulate biking and skiing motions.

"We also spend time on social media," Ted said before grinning. "But there's things we have to delete. We have gobs of friends on Facebook, though. That's fun."

When asked what gifts he will most likely receive on his 80th birthday, Ted Gann smiled and remained silent for a couple of seconds.

"Probably a $50 bill," he said before laughing. "I usually get gift cards and money for my birthday, and that's all good."

As fun as the birthday presents are, it's the time Ted Gann spends with family and the appetite-tacking taste of his wife's homemade birthday cakes that count the most.

"Just don't put 80 candles on the cake," he told his wife before the two laughed. "We don't want to burn down the house."