Crawfordsville woman turns 103 years old

Long time Crawfordsville resident, Mary Long, turns 103 on Dec. 22. Born on a farm near Fredonia in 1918, Long has had a long life living near Crawfordsville.

Long was the oldest of five children and went to school in a one-room country schoolhouse where she dreamed of being a teacher. Life on the farm was tough, most of the work was done with physical labor and mules. According to Long, her family celebrated Christmas with friends and family coming over for supper.

Long, who never learned to drive a vehicle, would walk to town to perform her housekeeping duties, which was her job as a young girl. She married Donald Long at the age of 22. Her husband then worked at the Ordinance Plant in Burlington, later, he enlisted in the Navy in 1942. They were stationed in Key West, Florida, for war duty.

After living a time in Palm Beach, Florida, after the war, they relocated to Burlington, where they had four children: Marlene Watson, Delbert, Denis and Craig. It was then that they moved to Crawfordsville to raise their family. Long helped her husband there with his mower business, while the children went to school in Olds and Mt. Pleasant.

“One of mother’s favorite pastimes was to read the paper, she always wanted to know what was going on. She still is a reader, even in the nursing home she gets the paper,” said Delbert Long of his mother.

Long credits her longevity to family genes — she had three aunts that lived to be 100 years old, and a daily dose of Geritol.

“She always kept a bottle at the ready, she really believes that it is the secret to her longevity,” said her son, Delbert Long. “She has always told her family and friends to take it. She always had a supply on hand.”

Her youngest sister, Louise Harter, lives in Burlington and visits Long when she can at the Sunrise Terrace Care Center in Winfield.

“We won’t be able have a large birthday party for her, due to virus restrictions, but we are planning on having the immediate family and some of the relatives there at the nursing home to celebrate for a short time at least,” said Delbert Long of the pending celebrations for his mother.