I hope the year 2000 will bring each of you some long sought after breakthroughs in your genealogy research. The following story appeared in today's issue of the Fort Smith Times Record and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have: CENTURY OF A WOMAN Waldron Centenarian Rings in 2000 With Birthday Bash By Pam Smith A life of hard work is what seems to have kept one Waldron woman going strong for a century. As she celebrates her 100th birthday today with family and friends, Georgia Hunt will not only reflect on the tough times but also will celebrate the good times. Born Jan. 2, 1900, in Knoxville, Tenn., Hunt was the oldest of six children of Geretta and Robert Reed. Her father met and married her mother in Knoxville. She speculates she was named for the state of Georgia, where her father was discharged from the Spanish-American War. When she was 8, her father wanted to "go west." He packed up the family and moved to Oklahoma, settling in the small town of Crowder for a few months before moving to McAlester to work for the railroad, said Hunt. "McAlester was the best schooling I got," reminisced Hunt, who recalled that tennis was offered for the girls. "It was modern for the time." Hunt had big plans to finish school and get her teaching certificate. However, three years later there was another move--this time her father wanted to try his hand at farming. "We came over here in a covered wagon," said Hunt who remembered that her father tied a cow to the wagon for the trip. "I was gonna ride the horse and (the cow) broke loose," she said, voice racing with excitement. "The horse threw me off; we had quite a time." The family's trip to Arkansas took about three to four days. "We just brought what we had in the wagon," she said. "We'd stop and camp at night, build a fire and cook a bite to eat. "One place we stopped and made some coffee and couldn't drink the coffee because the water was so bad," she added. Hunt said her father was originally headed for the apple orchards of Lincoln from McAlester but had to cut the trip short in Waldron. "Momma was sick most of the trip," she said. "We got to Waldron because Momma wasn't able to go any further." Hunt remembers pulling into the farmlands around Waldron, the fields white with cotton. "We'd never seen any cotton till we got here," she said. The family settled on a farm six miles south of town on government land her father purchased. Hunt was not impressed with the county schools in the Waldron area. "I was trying to be a teacher. He ruined my education; I couldn't come here to get my certificate. I've been put out about that ever since," she said, still angry with her father for moving her away from the McAlester schools. For Hunt, socializing at that time amounted to playing checkers, attending ice cream suppers and eating watermelon. Church singings and revivals provided Sunday entertainment. Church was where she met a neighbor boy, Howell Hunt. Thirteen years old at the time, the two spent a lot of time together at church, where Howell's father was the preacher. The couple married June 13, 1915. Sewn by her mother, the bride's white dress was made from linen cloth that cost 50 cents. The union produced nine children, with the first child arriving in 1916. Life on the farm, according to Hunt, was "dull." She remained on the farm with her husband until they divorced in 1943. The single mother moved her family to town and went to work caring for children and the sick in the hospitals. She also cleaned house and did laundry for others. Hunt remembers the arrival of electricity. "I was living here in town and I was washing for people," she recalled. "I got me an electric washing machine. "I worked to put the kids through school," added Hunt, who worked until she was 80 years old. Although she wouldn't trade anything for her indoor plumbing, microwave oven and television, Hunt believes the greatest achievement during her lifetime was highway development. "When they started building this highway through here, (U.S.) 71, it was a mud road," she said. "You did well to get through town." Never having driven a car in her life, Hunt has managed to travel from California to Canada to Florida--by airplane. In her younger days, the self-proclaimed shop-a-holic would do some damage in downtown Fort Smith. She'd catch a bus from Waldron to Fort Smith and shop up and down the stores along Garrison Avenue, returning home with an armful of packages. Hunt's first hospital admission came in 1996, when she was 96 years old and suffering from a bout of dehydration. Although her eyesight is failing, she's had no major health problems since. "That's my biggest problem," she said, "I can't see. I love books. I love to read. I can't make out the words." The centenarian attributes her longevity to hard work and claims there are no secrets to living 100 years. "I always worked all my life," she said. "I just love to help people when they needed help." As she looks to the future, Hunt doesn't worry about herself. She's too busy worrying about her 35 grandchildren and her many great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. "If China comes over here and takes over, what's gonna happen to those little ones?" she queried. "I can't help but worry about that." Hunt isn't concerned with the dawning of the year 2000. "I don't think it's gonna be so bad. I don't feel in any danger," she said. "There's been different times when they predicted the world was coming to an end. "The Bible says not even the angels know. I don't see no use to worry about it," she added. "Just be prepared and ready for it when it does come." [End] Delaine Edwards County Coordinator Scott Co ARGenWeb http://www.rootsweb.com/~arscott/scott.htm