Even at 100, she’s ‘got to be doing something’
Myrtle Weatherford, seated at left, is presented with a quilt autographed by her friends during her 100th-birthday party last week at Mechanicsville Baptist Church. PHOTOS BY BOBBY BRYANT
Myrtle Weatherford enjoyed her day with staff, friends and family.
By Bobby Bryant, Editor
editor@newsandpress.net
Myrtle Weatherford of Mechanicsville likes people.
She likes to be around people. She likes to talk to people. She likes to hug people.
As she turned 100 years old on July 8, “Miss Myrtle” was happy to be in a room filled with scores of people, all celebrating her centennial with songs, prayers, cards, cake and a colorful quilt autographed by her friends.
Last week, Mechanicsville Baptist Church – where Miss Myrtle is the oldest member – hosted a big celebration of her birthday.
“I feel really good,” she said. “ … What I missed most was being around people. I don’t like to be by myself. … I like to do things for people. I’ve never thought about doing nothing for me. I always wanted to do for other people.”
The COVID pandemic darkened her world, she said. “You can’t visit like you used to. COVID messed up the visitations. And the connection with people like it used to be.”
“Everything has changed” in her lifetime, said Miss Myrtle, who has two sons (a daughter died many years ago). “More has changed in the past 20 years than changed in the first 40 years.”
She said she was born in a house about five miles from the church where her birthday party was being held, and has lived in Mechanicsville for all but about three of her 100 years.
Miss Myrtle worked for Dixie Cup for about 35 years and liked it a lot. “I loved my job,” she said. “I was pretty well my own boss. People hate to go to work now, but I didn’t hate to go to work.”
She tries not to watch too much television. “I don’t drive anymore, so I stay home most of the time. … I don’t watch that much television. There’s a lot on television I don’t want to hear. So I don’t watch television all day.”
“I watch the game shows,” Miss Myrtle admitted. “’The Price Is Right,’ ‘Let’s Make a Deal.’ … I like the soaps. I watch an hour and a half of the soaps. That makes me sit down. That’s one way of making me stop and sit down.”
“I can’t be still,” she said. “I’ve got to be doing something. I want to be doing something.”
Miss Myrtle doesn’t dwell on her age. “I don’t really think about it. I think it would be depressing. It would be depressing if I thought about it, so I try not to think about it.”
Told that she looks nowhere close to 100, Miss Myrtle said: “I appreciate that! I try to take care of myself. I don’t overdo it. I overdo some things, but not too much. I’ve learned to do a little bit and quit, do a little bit and quit.”
As much as she was enjoying the party, Miss Myrtle knew she was going to pay a price for it tomorrow or the next day. “This is going to be tiring, yes,” she said. “ … But I appreciate everything that everybody’s done for me. And I love it. I love what’s going on. But it’ll be good to get home. And jack back.”
