CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Mary Rhodes is celebrating a century. She was born in 1924 and raised just outside of Summerville with her parents, two sisters, and three brothers. “I still call it the country,” said Rhodes. “We had a lot of fun. It was out in the country and the church was right there […]
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Mary Rhodes is celebrating a century. She was born in 1924 and raised just outside of Summerville with her parents, two sisters, and three brothers.
“I still call it the country,” said Rhodes. “We had a lot of fun. It was out in the country and the church was right there close by.”
Talking about her time as a young girl, she had no car… heck, no electricity. She used a paper fan to keep cool in the hot Lowcountry summers.
But there was one time when she was 11, she just had to have some ice cream.
“My cousin, she drove the mule, but I sat on the back holding a block of ice on his rump. To the day I figure how cruel it was because I know his rear-end was frozen by the time we got home, but we got the ice cream made and thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Before so many milestones, one thing she and her family always made sure of… they made it to church every Sunday.
“We were raised in church. We go every Sunday- no matter what, we went.”
Her memories are as vivid today as the day they happened. Like one with her mother.
“I’ll never forget the time she learned how instead of putting food in a jar, you could put it in a can and seal it. I will always remember that. Now you didn’t have to mess with the jars.”
A much simpler life, Rhodes graduated from Berkeley High School in 1941 and had a few jobs, including at the Navy shipyard. That’s when she moved to Folly Beach and met her future husband in 1945.
“He would come over after he got off work and visit. Next thing we knew, we were dating.”
A full life, living on the beach where everyone knew everyone else. She worked at a concrete company and helped with her parent’s store. But Rhodes credits her longevity to her children.
“They mean everything in the world to me. They are so faithful. I guess that’s why I’ve lived as long as I have, because I have good children.”
No secret to this life well-lived. “Just stayin’ busy. Trying to eat right. But other than that, there’s no pattern to follow,” she said.
Nowadays what Rhodes has to do, and loves to do, is keep her yard looking good.
“I love to go out there and work,” she said.
Rhodes has 13 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren with one on the way, and two great-great grandchildren. Her birthday is September 24th.