Maybe it was her desire to learn that has kept Vesta Jenkins healthy and happy for 100 years. Or perhaps it was her energy, which has enabled her to remain independent even today in her second-floor apartment in Texarkana, Ark. Or her deep faith, which has never wavered, even when in tough times. Whatever it was, it received the appreciation of about 100 admirers at Wednesday night's birthday party for her at Central Baptist Church on East 35th Street. "Vesta Jenkins has seen more in the last 25 years than I've done in the past 50 years," quipped Ron Cleveland, deacon, just before the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to her and cut the cake. "She had to quit school when she was a little girl to help the family out on the farm, but she never lost her desire to learn." At age 85, she decided to get her GED, so without cracking a book or taking a course, she took the exam and passed it easily. That was in the fall of 1985, and by the spring she had even bigger things in mind. She signed up for remedial English, music and art. She still has a number of her own paintings hanging in her apartment. In December 1991, she decided she had had enough of this retirement business and applied for a job at the McDonald's Restaurant just around the corner from her home. Hired as a hostess, she quickly drew a following of customers, who be-knighted her "McGranny." The mayor eventually proclaimed her birthday "McGranny Day," and local television affiliates aired video of her birthday party on the evening news. The Tonight Show tried to get her on his show but she turned him down, saying she didn't know "any good jokes." Janelda Silvey met Jenkins after she and her husband became members of the church 22 years ago. Silvey visits Jenkins regularlu, helping her with mail and minor business matters. She's usually available when Jenkins needs a ride. Otherwise Jenkins is just as independent today as when Silvey first met her, she said. The world may have changed a lot in the past 100 years, but she suspects Miss Jenkins "has never changed a bit." © VHR