Century-old Clinton resident reminisces on past
John Verble, from left, listens as his mother Georgia Goolsby Verble Herren answers questions from Sid Verble, another son of hers, at the Clinton Community Center on Aug. 17, honoring her on her 100th birthday. (photo:Ben Pounds )
Her son, Sid Verble, recently asked her questions at a party in front of a crowd at the Clinton Community Center.
They spoke about the development of technology, working for the U.S. government during World War II, childhood games and more.
Verble’s interview was often irreverent.
Herren grew up with four siblings, but got along with them.
She lived through the Great Depression, which began in 1929 when she 5, but her own depression “came later” when her father lost his job, she said.
For Christmas in 1929, she received a doll, an orange and an apple,” she said.
Verble said he thought the family split the orange, but Georgia said each child got an orange.
“I’m getting old; I forgot the story,” he said.
Herren said she did not listen to the radio often, instead preferring to play games that involved running, mud pies, puzzles, reading and playing with dolls.
She said she remembered the beginning of black-and-white television, but wasn’t sure which year she got hers.
She also remembered her family getting a Model T Ford. Her family did not have indoor plumbing until five to six years after her birth, although once they got indoor plumbing, they had hot water.
Before they got indoor plumbing, she had a big wash tub in which took baths.
She said the greatest invention in her lifetime was the cell phone.
“She’s a wizard at everything electronic,” Verble said in response.
Herren said her whole family influenced her Christian faith.
“[They were] really strict about going to church,” she said, even on snowy days.
“That’s how she raised us,” Verble said of his mother.
“I never got to see the Wonderful World of Disney,” he said to laughs from the audience.
Herren said she liked all of her teachers in school. She walked to school and even had to run back home for 45-minute lunch breaks when not eating at school. She had a hole in her shoe at one point, she said.
Her love of running led her to get a medal in a track competition.
“Everywhere I went when I was young I ran, and I enjoyed it,” she said.
Herren did not finish high school. Instead, during World War II, she took a secretary position for the U.S. War Department in Washington, D.C., at age 17.
“I had to pack borrowed clothes to go,” she said. She said it involved long walks and streetcar trips sometimes at night.
“At that time, a lot of government workers were getting murdered,” she said.
However, she said that at age 17, that prospect didn’t frighten her. She also said people she worked with treated her well.
“It was a good experience,” she said.
She later worked for the Department of Employment Security, and published two books: “Where Angels Walked” and “Hey Mom, What’s for Supper?”
Herren said her favorite food is chocolate pie and favorite color i`s pink.
She said her favorite book of the Bible is Acts, and favorite character is Paul.
When Verble asked whom Herren wanted to greet her in Heaven, she said she did not feel like choosing a specific family member.
“All my family are there; I love all of them,” she said.
However, when Verble pressed her, she said she’d like to see her mother.
