Five Generations to Observe 100th Birthday.

"Like a gentle whisper from another era, reminding the world that after all there really is no hurry, will come the voice. I will be that of Mrs. Martha Eleanor Goodin Coley who, with her family, will observe her 100th birthday Saturday. She will speak at 3 p.m. over The News-Gazette Radio Station WDWS. It will be the climax of Mrs. Coley's 100 years of observation - observation that began when she was born March 4, 1839, to Mr. and Mrs. Hardin Goodin, near Pittsfield. She has observed a true century of progress. Today her view has changed but slightly in its fundamentals. We used to have good times, too," she muses. "But they were different from the good times they look for now. As a small girl, she went to a subscription school. She remembers the strict discipline enforced there. We had to sit around the sides of the room," she said. "The teacher sat in the middle, and we had our backs to him. If someone misbehaved, he was sure to get a sharp rap on his skull. It was a poor school, though. I always thought I was a pretty good girl, but no matter soon or late "thump," and I got my rap too."
Her voice is not so clear, nor her answer as quick, as it once was. She had lived long, and there is no hurry. She speaks slowly. Maybe, she said thoughtfully, I was fidgety. In the old days, the young people had apple-cuttings. It was a regular party, and after it was all over there were the apples to be dried. It might be that the girls today are less closely watched, not as "prissy" as they were in 1850. Mrs. Coley is reluctant to condemn them. After she left the subscription school, Mrs. Coley attended Jacksonville college. She took Latin, arithmetic, algebra and such other studies as were required in preparation for school teaching. After two years, she taught school for a time at Pittsfield, and then married Thomas Coley, when she was 22. Coley was a farmer and influential Pike county resident. He was a good husband and provider. For their nine children, seven of whom are living and will be present for the centennial anniversary Saturday, Coley provided an education and a good home. He died 27 years ago, at the age of 75. Longevity is a family trait among the Goodins. Mrs. Coley is 100. Her daughter Mrs. Fred Chamberlain, 103 East Armory street, is 77. Her father died at the age of 94 and her mother when she was 89. Mrs. Coley lives a great deal of the time with Mrs. Chamberlain. In the same home are 18 University student roomers. Mrs. Chamberlain takes active care of their needs. Mrs. Chamberlain also takes care of her mother, when she is with her. Their lives are closely linked. Mrs. Coley, groping through the years for elusive memories, leans upon her daughter for prompting. The radio? she asked, upon questioning. "Yes, I remember it, not so long ago. Its a grand thing, a good thing, and I like it once in a while. But I don't like it all the time. Mrs. Chamberlain washed her mother's grayed hair the other day. She used a hair-dryer on it afterward. "My," Mrs. Coley said, "these conveniences are nice to what we used to have." "Yes," and Mrs. Chamberlain, "when she was young there was one way to dry hair. Just - let it dry. And then the granddaughter, Mrs. O.J. Hannigan, of Okmulgee, Okla., mentions her knitting. She hurries to the bedroom, and proudly comes forth with a pair of black knitted mittens, mittens as smooth and finely fabricated as the finest woven cloth. "She's knitted many of them," Mrs. Hannigan said. "Not a dropped stitch." Mrs. Coley nods. "Yes" she says, "and many a muffler, and stocking, too." Mrs. Chamberlain is the eldest of four daughters who are expected here Saturday. Others will be Mrs. Ted Milburne of San Antonio Tex.; Mrs. Ed Glandon of Pittsfield, and Mrs. Garrett P. Robertson of San Antonio. Sons to be present are W. L. Coley Ft. Worth, 72; Doctor L.A. Coley, 67, Downers Grove and H.V. Coley, Pasadena CA, 61. Two sons Everett and Lewis are not living. Among others who will be present will be Mr. and rs. Frank Goodin and Mrs. Ella Stone of Pittsfield. In all, there will be the Chamberlain home five generations represented as the family gathers around Mrs. Coley. She eats what she wishes, and sleeps often, with a nap each afternoon, regularly. She has always been a church member, and belongs to the Christian church. When she was younger, they were known as the Campbellites, after Alexander Campbell. She has 15 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Mrs. Chamberlain's son, C.C. Chamberlain, 605 East Chalmbers, is the third generation. His two daughters, Mrs. Grace Johnson, Champaign, and Mrs. Warren Harris, Rochester N.Y. are the fourth. Mrs. Johnson's sons, Dale, 2, is the fifth and the one great great-grandchild."