Yes, yes I do. Not to mention I'm older than the most recent State. So, yeah, I think distant past is quite an exaggeration. You're not required to agree, of course.
In any case, if you were born several generations ago and still don't consider your childhood to be in the distant past, remind me not to get on your bad side :)
But, less than sixty years hadly seems like the distant past. However, that's mostly an addendum. You may not have clicked the Wikipedia link but, if you do, you'll see quite a few changes.
It turns out that I'm older than the State of Alaska and Hawaii. I'm am pretty old, but, damn it! That's not the distant past. Dinosaurs roamed in the distant past. I am not a dinosaur. Well, I'm not a fossil.
Edit: By the way, not all of the Hawaii territory is part of the State of Hawaii. And some islands are changing their borders all the time.