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*Page 3, March 17, 1999By LOREN SCHNEIDEROn March 10, Aiken resident Ada Belle Scott celebrated another birthday.What is amazing about this is how many birthdays Mrs. Scott has celebrated so far — 101 to be exact.One of her daughters, Ann Dawson, said, “How do I feel about her being 101? Just look at my arms, I have goose-bumps. And, it’s not just the age; it’s the health she is in.”Despite her age, Mrs. Scott is in good health. She is a little hard of hearing and has diabetes, but neither slow her down. Mrs. Scott lives alone and takes care of herself. “I can’t do much now; but I do the best I can,” she said.Her granddaughter, Linda Hamilton, said “She is very independent. She does some of her own cooking and cleaning, but nothing heavy Aunt Christine doesn’t like her to do the heavy stuff.”Aunt Christine is Christine Preister, one of Mrs. Scott’s daughters, who lives nearby She stops by every day to check on her mother and does the heavy cooking and cleaning and the grocery shopping.“She taught us everything. She taught us to respect ourselves and others.One thing Mrs. Scott does do on her own is work in her yard and flower garden. “I have lilies, water lilies and some roses. I love them,” she said.“Her happiness is with her flowers and that yard, Mrs. Dawson said. “She does the flowers and the yard work.” Mrs. Scott was born in the Talatha community in 1898 and moved to Aiken when she was a child. According to her son Rayford Scott, when she was really young, she worked for the president of an Aiken Bank as a chambermaid in his home.In 1924, she married George Scott. Mr. Scott had six children from a previous marriage, and together they had 10 more children. Recalling those times in her life when she was raising her children, Mrs. Scott said, “We lived out on- Ann DawsonI iiiii:mmthe Johnson farm and they were good kids.”Rayford, a son from Mr. Scott’s first marriage, said, “She never had 16 kids at one time. We were between the two marriages of our daddy, and there was a gap between the sets of children. I was seven years old when she came. Growing up, she was strict, but I learned practically everything I know from her.”One of her daughters, Naomi Lock-amy, said, “She was very strict, but we learned how to be decent young ladies. We learned how to treat people, learned self respect and how to work and hold down a job.”Ann Dawson, another daughter, said, “She taught us everything. She taught us to respect ourselves and others. Hermain thing was ‘do onto others as you would have them do on to you.’ She also taught us the importance of work.”In 1946, her husband died and Mrs. Scott never remarried. Around 1952, she moved to the house that she currently lives in.Recently, most of her children came to town to celebrate their mother’s birthday. Unfortunately three of her children could not attend the celebration and one child died last year. Gathered at her house before dinner, the others marveled at their mother’s longevity.“It is really something,” Mrs. Lock-amy said. I can’t describe the feeling I have when I think about her age; it is unbelievable.”Mrs. Dawson said, “Besides herhealth, an amazing thing is she has lived to see all of her children retire. That just doesn’t usually happen.” When asked about the number ol grandchildren, great-grandchildren and- great-great-grandchildren Mrs. Scott has, after a long discussion, the family could not determined the exact number. A guess was, over 100 grand(Please see CENTURY, page 6)
Newspaper Details
Aiken Standard
Aiken, South Carolina, US
Thu, Mar 18, 1999
Page 23
Full Page
Clipped by
Library O.
USA 26 Oct 2021
Other Publications Near Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken Daily Mail
Aiken County Rambler
Aiken County Register
Aiken County Journal
Aiken Standard
