MAE BELLE CRYDER At the age of 100, Mae Belle Scott Cryder has experienced recessions, depressions, several wars, and phenomenal milestones in medicine and technology.

Although she currently lives in Elberton, Miss Mae Belle was born and reared in Lincoln County. She is the daughter of Ruth (Wright) and John Scott and the granddaughter of Bessie (Norman) and Mosley Wright and Elizabeth Jane (Butler) and Frank Scott, all of Lincoln County. In fact, Miss Mae Belle was born at the home of her maternal grandparents in the northern part of the county.

She finished the tenth grade in a two-room schoolhouse at Midway United Methodist Church. “There were 11 grades then, but my family couldn’t afford to send me to Lincolnton and board me so I could finish school.”

Last month, when she turned 100, a huge birthday celebration was held for Miss Mae Belle at the First Baptist Church of Elberton. Also, on behalf of the citizens of Elberton and the city council, Mayor Larry Guest issued a proclamation in her honor.

The proclamation expressed the city’s gratitude for the vital role Miss Mae Belle is playing in the history of Elberton and designated her as one of the town’s “most valuable and outstanding citizens.”

An excerpt from the proclamation is as follows: “Miss Mae Belle has accepted her lot in life lovingly and graciously and continues to do the very best she can to encourage everyone to work hard and better themselves.

“We are so happy that she is enjoying her Golden Years with her family and many friends here in Elberton, and we hope she will continue to enjoy many more happy and fruitful years.”

In response to all of the festivities surrounding her birthday, Miss Mae Belle said, “To all of you who visited me in my home; to those of you who cheered me with cards, flowers, or food; to each of you who came to my birthday party; and to those who showered me with other expressions of love and consideration, please accept my most sincere and appreciative thank-you.

“When it comes to friends, God gives enough – then gives again. I love you.”

As for her first 100 years, Miss Mae Belle gives God all of the credit. “I lived a clean, Christian life, and I’ve never abused my body. When I was small, I used to wonder why people couldn’t live a good life as well as a bad one. But I’ve learned it’s hard to live a Christian life. Many temptations come before you.”

For Miss Mae Belle, loving others is one of the key components of living a Christian life. “I have no hatred in my heart for anybody. I love people – they may have some ways I don’t approve of, but I still love them.”

Her longevity can also be attributed to a bedrock sense that the Lord will indeed provide.

“My parents had so much faith – they never talked ‘hard times.’ One day, when there was nothing for supper, my mother simply told us that the Lord would provide.

“As was typical in that day and time, a man came by the house to see if we had anything to sell. All we had was a veal calf. Mama sold it to him for $5. She looked at us and said, ‘See, didn’t I tell you the Lord would provide.’

“When he got home from working at the sawmill, Mama gave the money to Papa, who got on a mule and rode three miles to buy groceries at the little community store, run by Mr. Barnett. You could get a lot of groceries for $5 in those days. One big can of salmon cost 10 cents – you could get three for a quarter.”

Miss Mae Belle went on to say she would not exchange the way she grew up “for all the money there is.”

“It gave us more compassion for the underprivileged than we would have had if everything had been handed to us on a silver platter. We walked in their shoes. But we really didn’t think anything about it, because everybody else was living the same way.”

In other comments, Miss Mae Belle said, “We lived under some pressure back then, but it was nothing like it is now. We didn’t lock our doors – most of the doors didn’t even have locks on them.

“We weren’t afraid of anybody harming us in any way. Now, people aren’t safe behind locked doors. It’s a different world.”

During those days long ago, families made their own bread and soap. “The lye or potash soap was pure soap, but it didn’t smell too good,” Miss Mae Belle noted.

Likewise, during her younger years, people cooked on wood stoves, heated their homes with fireplaces, drew water from wells, took “pan baths,” and used oil lamps to light their houses.

“It wasn’t bad,” stated the centenarian. “We were used to it.”

Concerning methods of transportation, Miss Mae Belle said she grew up in the wagon and buggy days. “There were no cars – you either rode a horse, had a buggy or a wagon, or walked.

“And when cars did come out, you would have to get out of the buggy or wagon and pull your horse to the side. Horses were afraid of cars and would run away if you didn’t hold them.”

Miss Mae Belle also remembers the advent of airplanes. “Whenever we heard an airplane, we would look until we found it and then watch it as it went by. Cars and planes were really exciting to me.”

The very best thing, however, was electricity. Miss Mae Belle was at least 20 years old and had moved from Lincoln County to Elberton before she lived in a house that had electricity.

“I thought it was the grandest thing in the world! Electric refrigerators and irons were a big help, and the lighting was so much better.”

When Miss Mae Belle was 18 and her sister, Hazel, was 16, they left home to work in the silk mill in Elberton. It was at her boarding house that Miss Mae Belle met her future husband, Glenn Cryder.

“I tell people I had to leave Lincoln County to find a husband who was not kin to me,” she smiled.

Mr. Cryder, a barber, passed away in 1994 at the age of 85.

Over the years, the couple had four children, Haynes Cryder of Conyers, Georgia; Joyce Cryder Cooksey of Chicago, Illinois; Terry Cryder of Douglasville, Georgia; and the late Jerry Cryder; 11 grandchildren, three of whom live in Elberton; and six greatgrandchildren.

While most people would be content to sit in a rocking chair and watch the world go by after turning 100, Miss Mae Belle still works two days a week at Ward’s Pharmacy, where she has been employed for the past 43 years.

She also drives, does all of her own housework, loves to read, and cooks for her family and friends. “I used to do the yard work until my grandson took it away when I was 97.”

But now and again, she will still get out and prune the low shrubs with her electric clippers.

Amazingly, the only medicines Miss Mae Belle takes are fluid and potassium pills. “I didn’t start with this until I was 99,” she remarked.

As for the future, Miss Mae Belle said, “I’m looking forward to having a good life and enjoying life as long as I’m living. I don’t feel old. I know I’m old and that I look old, but I don’t feel old. I feel as good as I ever did.”