Dalton Daily Citizen
DALTON — Ask Gladys Whaley how it feels to turn 99 and her answer is “Well, I’m still here, so I guess it’s pretty good!”
A native of Ocoee, Tenn., Whaley spent her childhood living in a house attached to the back of a general store her dad, William Snyder, owned. She says he sold all kinds of things, including material used to replace shoe soles and ladies’ hats.
“I wish I’d kept one of (the hats),” said Whaley.
She says she helped out at the store only a little because she was just a kid. However, after graduating from Polk County High School in Benton, Tenn., Whaley says she “may” have stayed and helped.
“I really don’t remember,” she admits.
Whaley’s memory is a bit blurry when discussing her younger days. She doesn’t remember anything about living through the Depression or how long she worked at Dixie Foundry in Cleveland, Tenn.
“That’s too far back for me,” said Whaley. “I know it was a long time. I worked on the assembly line spraying appliances.”
Daughter Anita Thacker says her mom stayed at Dixie Foundry from 1946 to 1959, and all Thacker can remember from her growing up years was that Whaley was always working. After Whaley left the job she spent most of her time at home being a wife and mother to late husband Ben and Thacker, Sylvia Ensley and Donald Whaley (now deceased).
Well, aside from occasionally working as a cashier at Beaverdale Superette and Weber’s Grocery Store, that is.
In 1984 she joined the Cohutta Seniors Group as a charter member. The group was the brainchild of Cohutta First Baptist Church’s former pastor, Bill Barker, and several church members. They began meeting monthly at the church, enjoying arts and crafts as well as each other’s company.
“Lots of people in the community came with their (lunch in) brown bags,” said Frankie Williams, a founding member of the group. “They had so much fun they wanted to meet more often.”
Their wish was granted in 1989 when meetings began being held each Tuesday, complete with a meal that was prepared and served by church members. Today, the church uses the group as an outreach ministry to the community.
“The seniors gather together and have a good time,” Williams said. “The popularity continues.”
Williams had an idea about a month ago to have a celebration and honor Whaley at the Feb. 16 meeting — which just so happened to also be Whaley’s birthday. The occasion featured bright balloons and flowers, a proclamation from the group naming Feb. 16, 2010, “Gladys Whaley Day,” and a large cake, tiara and pink feather boa. The group sang Whaley’s favorite gospel songs.
“Gladys has always been so much fun to be around and so cute, I thought, ‘We can’t let this occasion go,’” Williams said. “Sheila Rose and I got together and started planning. Everybody in the kitchen agreed with us.”
Williams used the event to share a few “fun facts” about the guest of honor.
“Gladys used to start wearing skeleton earrings in October a week or two before Halloween,” she said. “She always wears a Santa hat every Christmas to the seniors’ Christmas dinner, and she drove her car until she was 90.”
Whaley is thankful she’s around to enjoy it all. She still lives in the same house she moved into in 1946 when she first came to Whitfield County. Her daughters alternate staying with her.
“Being able to get out and attend is most important,” she said. “Things are better now than what they used to be. The most amazing thing I’ve seen in my lifetime is electricity. We used to have to burn lamps!”
And the birthday celebration? Whaley thinks “it’s great. Don’t you?”
“Making it to 99 feels good because I’m still able to get out and go,” she said. “The good Lord is the only thing that’s helped me live this long.”
