Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-10-06

Last winter a letter from a gen
tleman in Florida who suggested that
perhaps his eightyodd years entitled
him to claim to be the oldest reader
of The Tri-Weellly Journal caused
us to ask if there was any reader
who could dispute his claim.
We received many replies from
good friends who were in their late
sos or COS, but the title went with
out dispute to Mrs. Virginia Eliza
beth Veal, of near Braselton, Ga,
who had passed her one hundredth
birthday.
That led us to think that in one
respect, at least, The ri-Weekly
Journal was unique-that it could
claim to have both the oldest regular
contributor and the oldest regular
reader of any paper in the country,
Mrs. w. H. FELTON, being in her
eighty-eighth year and Mrs. Veal in
her 1O1st year. No one has chal-
lenged our claim.
Now here is a most interesting ac-
count of Grandma Neals 1O1st
birthday party:
BY BERT COLLIER
Grandma Virginia Elizabeth
Veal. of BraseltOn, Ga, celebrated
her 101st birthday on September 20
with five children, 60 grandchildren,
2O9 great grandchildre and 76 great
great grandchildren at her party,
land twelve more families yet to
hear from" she said proudly as she
sat in the midst of her huge brood.
All around the little country home
where she has lived since the days
when railroads were only dreams of
the visionary, stretch for miles and
miles the cotton and corn fields of
her children and grandchildren and
great grandchildren, brown and gol'
den in the autumn sunlight. For
miles and miles people had come to
her birthday party, to see her big
cake with 101 candles. From Flor
ida and North Carolina and Alabama
and Tennessee they came. The
twelve families still to be heard
from" live in oklahoma and have
lived there for years. Grandma"
Veal says she knows there are At
least twelve more of the fifth gen
GRAFTON out there, but. in all fair
ness, she does not count them IN
the total.
Mrs. Veal's birthday party, held at
the home of her daughter and SON
in-law, Mr. and Mrs. 7. 7. Cooper,
few miles from BraseltOn, was at
tended by nearly 500 people, a brass
band and a string band.
At 10 o'clock people began to ar
rive, and soon the spacious yard OF
the Cooper home was filled with au-
tomobiles and buggies and spring
wagons and covered prairie schoon-
ers, such as the pioneers used to
open the west, and stable horses with
billions behind. People arrived in
every conceivable way.
Like WhistIerS Mother"
Grandma Veal came out few min
utes later to sit in state on the porch
and received her guests. She locked
like Whistler's famous portrait of his
mother in her black dress, her hands
folded in her lap, and her small
glasses low on her nose. But from
her eyes Shone a ViVaCiOUS CLEAN as
the long line of visitors passed her
! chair to grasp her hand and wish
her many happy returns of the day,
AS each person offered her hand she
caught it in a warm clasp between
both of hers and beamed a blessing.
| She greeted everyone with a few SIM
pie words of welcome and good cheer.
For the favored there was d mother
! ly embrace.
The long line passed and settled
into improvised seats under huge
oak tree. 1t was like a camp meet
ing. A young minister rose and gave
one of those old-faShioned talks, full
of Biblical injunctions: Honor thy
father and mother, that thy days
may be long" and full of beautiful
poetical references, For she has
reached that unhoped serene that
men call age There were few dry
eyes when he had ended.
And then the band. How the trum-
peter could tongue out variations of
Dixie" that seductively invited the
buck and wing adopts to try few
steps. And how the saXophones soft
! ly led the melody, Nearer, My God
to Thee" as the ceremony passed
naturally in singing the old-time re-
| ligious hymns. They were stirring
Sometimes the boom of bass and the
Tilt of the tenors predominated as the
! songs rang out, and sometimes the