Local resident set to celebrate big milestone May 30
Sweetgum – In 1924, “Happy Birthday” appeared in Robert H. Coleman’s Harvest Hymns.
You could buy a gallon of milk for 52 cents; a pound of flour for 55 cents; and a pound of sugar for 97 cents. Calvin Coolidge was President and Babe Ruth was the most famous athlete in the world.
It was a fascinating year, with the invention of loudspeakers, spiral notebooks and cheeseburgers.
On Friday, May 30, 1924, Vinnie and Mack Jordan welcomed their first child and named her Edna Mae. She became the oldest sister to Gar, James (Squeak), Anna Lee (June) and Bob.
The Jordan children grew up on Jutts Creek in the Tallulah Area of Graham County. She remembers playing in the creek, climbing trees and swinging on grapevines as a young girl. She and Gar would dam up the creek and make a swimming hole. All her fondest memories of childhood include her Mother Vinnie.
As Vinnie and Mack grew their family, tragedy struck when Vinnie had a set of twins – Polly and Dolly – and died in childbirth. She was 33 years old. At the young age of 16, Edna Mae took over the care of her younger sister – who was five at the time – and her younger brother, who was only three. Her aunt took care of the twins.
Dolly died when she was two weeks old, but Polly continued to be raised by her aunt and lived until several years ago. Jordan continued to “mother” her younger siblings until each married and left home.
Edna herself later married Bruce Lewis and together, they had a son, Robert Lewis; and a daughter, Linda Lewis Kelley. She has four grandchildren and several great grandchildren. After Bruce’s death, she married Roy Farr, who died in 2011.
She has lived through tragedies in life, but she faces each day with a smile.
At the age of 99.9, she is the perfect bill of health – with a touch of arthritis.
Her advice to living a long life includes eating right and staying busy – which she does by caring for her home, where she still lives with her dog and five cats.
She heats her home with wood and cooks her meals with a partiality to anything that includes bacon. She does her laundry and does her own housekeeping.
Edna Mae raised a garden until 2022. She still enjoys making jelly and when she can get a hold of some cabbage, she loves to make sauerkraut. She cuts cabbage off by hand and makes it in a dishpan: the way she has done it for many years.
Edna Mae is a member of Bear Creek Baptist Church where she attended for years.
Although she is no longer able to attend services, she still listens to services and reads her Bible. Family and faith are important to her.
She isn’t surprised to see 100 years: her father Mack also hit the milestone.
Apparently, longevity runs in the family.
Edna Mae plans to celebrate her birthday next Friday with family at her daughter’s house.
As they enjoy a good meal together and gather around a cake, she will be serenaded with the song that debuted the same year that she debuted in the world.