What Have You Seen This Century

Picture it....Huntersville 1911. I can only imagine that the population was less than 1000 and there was a railroad and maybe a mill and a store front.  The year 1911 is when my friend Cara Holbrook was born.  This week I have been asked how I came to meet Cara because we'll let's face it we make an unusual pair. If memory serves me correctly, she retired from teaching about the same time I started putting together sentences--the two word variety.  To put it into perspective, she graduated from Catawba College in 1934.

Ms. Holbrook came into Town Hall one day and was all upset that her neighbor was going to encroach on her land.  She wanted someone from the Town to come out and survey her line to make sure her neighbor was doing everything right.  Planners are not surveyors, but she had an Aunt Gen quality (technically my great aunt, but on that side of the family you don't get the Aunt title until a generation has passed) so I agreed to meet her.

I realized she lived alone, so I went back to check on her from time to time during lunch or after work and it was through those visits that I learned a lot about her, what times were like in Huntersville before the building boom of the 1990's and 2000's, teaching in Mecklenburg County and her family.  Ms. Holbrook had never married and was very devoted to her parents and her sisters.  Probably the most depressing thing she has had to do is give up driving.  It hasn't been until recently, that age has caught up with her and you no longer see her going to the post office for her mail (seriously, crossing Gilead Road at times is similar to Frogger). But, she still plays cards, never misses church and has people to take her where she needs to go.

My visits began to become sporadic and this summer she left me a message at Town Hall, but didn't say what she needed. I rushed down to her house only to find out that she needed my address (if you know me at all you know I tend to lean towards the worst in those situations.  Mom stopped calling at 6am because I kept answering the phone, "who died?").

Her church was throwing her a birthday party and after she got over the shock of her age being announced in front of the whole congregation, she was getting used to the idea of a celebration.  I don't think I was aware that she was 100 (or getting close).  I promised to mark my calendar and attend.

Saturday we celebrated Ms. Holbrook.  Aside from enjoying the birthday of one really cool woman, there was church punch involved.  I just can't get enough of good (non-kool-aid) church punch. and will admit to cutting myself off at four glasses. 

Ms. Holbrook officially turns 100 on September 1st.  Happy Birthday to a woman who gives me such great inspiration!

I did not write the name of this book down, but it was about the history of North Mecklenburg.  The Holbrook's have been around this area for a while.