HER ‘MOMENT IN TIME’
York woman is turning 109; her family wants you at birthday party
YORK — Ruth Maness is in rare company. Next week, Maness, who is believed to be the oldest person in York County, turns 109. Born March 16, 1911, a year before the Titanic sunk, Maness grew up in Asheboro, North Carolina, with five sisters and three brothers.
She’s lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression and the Great Recession, and the first man on the moon.
Eighteen presidents have come and gone. She’s told her family about the dark times of the Great Depression and seeing people having to go to soup kitchens and not having anything. She said folks had to make clothes out of flour sacks. She remembers her father having to go out of town to get work.
Ruth was married to her husband Everett for almost 68 years and had two children, Jacqueline and Charles “Buck.” Everett was a brick mason while Ruth worked at a hosiery mill. They lived in their house together in Asheboro running their farm from 1947 until
Everett died in 1993. Ruth stayed there for about a year and a half afterward, taking care of an acre and a half of land by herself. She did it to have closure, Ruth’s granddaughter Debbie Hoopingarner, said.
Ruth then left her farm. “She said it just didn’t feel like home anymore because he wasn’t there,” Debbie said.
She moved to York County and lived with Debbie until her condo at Eagle Sound was finished. Debbie said Ruth would go out and watch them build because her father was a carpenter and she knew what they needed. She lived there before moving back in with Debbie, along with her daughter Jacqueline, in 2017.
Living as a centenarian
While centenarians, those who live to be 100 or more, are still uncommon, the CDC found that the number of Americans 100 and over increased 43.6%, from 50,281 in 2000 to 72,197 in 2014.
Boston University School of Medicine has been tracking centenarians since 1995 and found that 85% are women. The Boston researchers also found that few centenarians are obese or heavy smokers. Longevity also tends to run in the family.
Ruth’s father lived to be 93 and her little sister Genevieve is in her 90s.
Ruth eats well, prays and makes sure she listens to the Bible every day on the public news and Christian stations. Debbie said they also get out and go to karaoke in Poquoson when the weather is nice. She still goes to the beauty shop every week.
“She’s a very strong woman. She doesn’t have anything bad to say about anybody,” Debbie said. “She’s just very solid. She believes in her morals. She cannot believe the conditions and everything that’s going on in this country today. She wasn’t raised that way.”
Debbie still remembers Ruth teaching her to cook and letting her make her own little biscuits with the dough. She still gets her in the kitchen every once in a while and helps her make cakes. She also fondly remembers shelling peas and having long talks with Ruth.
This time of the year is always special for Ruth’s family. “There’s not too many people that can say they’re 65 and still have their grandmother,” Debbie said.
To celebrate, York County and the Mothers Against Crime charity are throwing her a birthday bash.
From January through March, Mothers Against Crime raises funds to provide assistance to the elderly.
Reggie Randall, fundraising director for the charity, met Debbie while out fundraising and she told him that her grandmother was turning 109 soon. He jumped at the chance to meet her and contacted the county. After they presented her with a dozen roses and candy for Valentine’s Day, Randall decided he wanted to be a part of making Ruth’s birthday special.
“It’s open to the public and we want everybody in the county and the city to come out because this will be a historic moment in time. She’s considered to be the oldest living person in the county,” he said.
The party will be Saturday from 6-10 p.m. at York Hall, 301 Main St.