100 Years = A Long Time

The family of William Paul & Virginia Hurst Mikell of Olustee, Florida.  The girls married name is in parentheses.  All of the males last name is Mikell.  Pictured are (standing left to right) Owen, Shep, Ruby (Harvey), Gertie (Owen), Ina (King), Rosie (Mott), Ethel (Dowling), Ernest, John, Earl, & George; (seated left to right) William Paul Mikell (father), Paul, Virginia Hurst Mikell (mother), Dorothy (Stumpe), & Pearl (Croft).

This past Saturday, February 5th, my great-aunt Rosa (Rosie) Mott celebrated her 100th birthday during a party the family held at Baya Pointe Nursing Home in Lake City, Florida.  She is the last surviving child of Paul and Virginia Mikell of Olustee.  There were 14 children, 7 boys and 7 girls (see photo above).  She was the 11th child born in the family.  Her husband, Lester, died in the 1940's and her only child, a son "Buck", passed away in 2003.  She had 25 nieces and nephews of which 20 are still living, 9 of them made it to the celebration (pictured at right).  My grandmother, Pearl Mikell Croft (died in 1981), was her oldest sister.

As I made the plans for the "centennial celebration" I began to research events and inventions that have come to pass in the last 100 years.  Most of us never lived without many of these inventions and we have only read of many historical events in books or online.  Here are a few of the things I shared during the celebration.

• The first "old-age" home opened in Prescott, Arizona on 2/6/11.
• The first transcontinental airplane flight arrived at Pasadena, CA from New York on 11/5/11. The flight lasted a whopping 82 hours, 4 minutes.
• Clarence Crane created Life Savers candy in 1912.
• In 1913 the crossword puzzle and the modern zipper was invented.
• In 1919 the pop-up toaster was invented by Charles Strite.
• Earl Dickson invented the Band-Aid in 1920.
• In 1923 Clarence Birdseye invents frozen food.
• Aunt Rosie didn't use a notebook with spiral bindings in school because this wasn't invented until 1924.
• PEZ Candy and Aerosol cans came along in 1927.
• 1928 seen the discovery of penicillin, and the inventions of bubble gum and the electric razor.
• How did they wrap presents because Scotch Tape wasn't patented by 3M until 1930.
• In 1935 Wallace Carothers and DuPont Labs invents nylon (polymer 6.6).
• The ballpoint pen came along in 1938.
• In 1943 some fun stuff came along with the invention of the "Slinky" and "Silly Putty".
• The microwave oven invented by Percy Spencer in 1946.
• Mobile phones were first invented in 1947; however, cell phones were not sold commercially until 1983.
• Velcro, the Frisbee, and the Wurlitzer jukebox were invented in 1948.
• I guess cakes were made from scratch before 1949, because cake mix was invented.
• The first credit card came along in 1950 (Diners).
• In 1951 came Super Glue.
• Mr. Potato Head was patented in 1952.
• Aunt Rosie never enjoyed a "Happy Meal" at McDonalds as a child because the restaurant chain did not open until 1954.
• The Hula Hoop was invented in 1958.
• Aunt Rosie never played with a Barbie doll because the toy wasn't invented until 1959.
• Permanent-press fabric invented was invented in 1964.
• The first men walked on the moon in 1969 (Neil Armstrong was first and "Buzz" Aldrin was second).
• Post-it Notes came along in 1974.
• Aunt Rosie was born when William Howard Taft was President.  She has lived under 18 different US Presidents.

This list is by no means all-inclusive and I do not guarantee complete accuracy as it was compiled from various online sources.   The list also does not include all of the wars, conflicts, political changes, fads, technological inventions, etc. that have taken place since 1911.  I hope it gives you some idea of the things that a 100 year-old person has seen in their time.  Even more interesting to me is the things Aunt Rosie grew-up without!

Happy Birthday Aunt Rosie!!!

NOTE: Additional photos are in this photo gallery.