Super Centenarians

Bob Butler, June 23, 2007

George Francis has lived to see 19 American presidents and 7 American wars. At 111 he is the oldest living man in the United States and was the oldest of 23 centenarians honored in Sacramento Saturday by the senior advocacy group, “Take a Stand Against Elder Abuse.”

The honorees came into the hall at the McLellan Park Pavilion by various means: some in wheel chairs, some using canes or walkers but quite a few walked on their own. And, boy, what great stories they all had.  "TASAEA" put together short biographies for each of the seniors and reading them was like reading an American history book.

Francis was born in Louisiana in 1896. His third grade class received a visit from Booker T. Washington who encouraged the students to always use good manners whether they were talking to a preacher or a “scruffy man,” which today we’d call a bum or homeless person. He also befriended a young jazz musician named Louis Armstrong, who used to sit on Francis’ front porch and play his trumpet. Francis has 4 children, 18 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren and 13 great-great grandchildren. He is pictured below with daughters (l.) Veronica, Althea and Shirley.

Lottie Owens was born in Texas on 1906. She had no brothers so she and her six sisters helped with all the farming chores that included picking cotton. One of her childhood friends was Dorie Miller, who became the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross for heroism during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. She also was a babysitter for a young girl named Bonnie Parker, who she described “as a good girl until she started liking the boys.” Parker, of course, became half of the murderous Depression era robbery team of Bonnie and Clyde.

Zach Nixon (in white) was born in Oklahoma in 1907. During the Depression he worked for Union Pacific Railroad laying track from Nebraska to Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.

Mae Etta Castain, 105, was a pioneer in a landmark equal pay civil rights case. In the early 1940’s she was working as a teacher in Louisiana. The Black teachers were paid $85 a month while White teachers were paid at least $125. The Black teachers hired an attorney named Thurgood Marshall and sold dinners to pay his legal fees and travel expenses. The teachers won the suit but Castain was fired because she didn’t yet have tenure.

The seniors gathered for a group picture under an archway of colorful balloons. Then they were each given certificates of appreciation and resolutions from local politicians. They even provided some of the entertainment: Luella Hubbard, 100, recited the original short play, “The Blind Man”, Florence Morris, 102, sang a song and Elizabeth Monk, 101, played Paderewski’s Minuet in G on the piano.

The centenarians, for the most part, were decked out in their Sunday finest, which was fitting because most of them thanked God for their longevity. But they also credited drinking and smoking sensibly, if at all, and staying physically and mentally active.

Monk summed it up best with this advice: “Take one day at a time and plan that there will be another day.”