Mrs. Willie Mae Martin’s centennial birthday was marked with friends and family at a celebration on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Oprah Winfrey Boys and Girls Club.
Her nieces Daisey Burt, Rena and Annethia came from Georgia for the celebration and took Martin to Jackson for a weekend stay at the Westin Hotel.
Martin said the changes and advancements she has seen in her lifetime are “too many to mention,” but during her party Saturday, family presented Martin with a video that highlighted pictures of herself and family over the years, birthday wishes and examples of all the changes that have occurred during her lifetime.
Martin grew up in a family of eight children on the family farm on Highway 14 South in Attala County. She said she began working at the age of five. A large vegetable garden - planted, tended and harvested by Martin and her siblings - provided the family’s food. Cotton and corn fields offered other areas of work, she said.
She attended Tipton Street School through the 10th grade and married Terry Martin in 1947. They made their home in Attala County until they moved to Milwaukee in 1951.
“We moved to Milwaukee to get jobs,” she said. The move to came after Terry served four years in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Martin said the home in which she now lives was provided as the result of their years of working in Milwaukee and saving money with the goal of returning to Attala County. She is a firm believer in “There’s no place like home.”
A longtime reader of The Star-Herald, she said its arrival on Thursday is a highlight of her week. She also enjoys television news reports and watches a few favorite shows every day.
Her niece, LaShai Martin, who lives nearby, said her aunt’s favorite television show is Family Feud. She loves Steve Harvey, she added.
From watching the news, she said she liked President Trump, but does not always agree with some of the political situations reported.
Even at 100 years old, Martin remains very independent, continuing to live in the home she and her husband bought when they returned to Attala County.
Although she does not regularly drive a car, she is quick to point out, “I could,” and she admits to what she calls “slipping off” and driving to Kosciusko on one occasion.
A firm believer in God, she is a member of Mt. Moriah M.B. Church in Attala County.
When asked for advice for today’s youth, she recommended the following:
“Do right; go to school; obey parents; believe in God.”
