North Jackson native celebrates 100th birthday bash with family

By Sean Barron

Being able to adjust to change is part of his secret to longevity, a family member said.

NORTH JACKSON — “You never see a sad face on him. He’s just a stellar, unique person who loves life and people.”

That was one of the ways Johnny Ramsey described his grandfather-in-law, Earla W. Smith, the guest of honor at Smith’s 100th birthday party and reunion on his 100-acre farm at 10473 Gladstone Road.

Ramsey, a retired Navy chief from Pensacola, Fla., was one of roughly 300 family members, friends and others who attended the gathering Saturday to celebrate Smith’s birthday, which was May 19.

“He treated us with love and respect when we were young, and you reap what you sow,” added Ramsey’s wife and Smith’s granddaughter, Jean Marie Ramsey.

The party featured the usual food, drinks and games for children, but it was hard to miss the hundreds of colorful beads hanging from a pavilion’s rafters — as well as generous helpings of praise for Smith from many of his family members.

For his part, Smith said he was grateful for the turnout at his gathering, which also included fireworks, a bonfire and hayrides.

“All you have to do to have a party like this is live to be 100,” he said, laughing.

Smith spends five or six months a year in Florida with the Ramseys, during which time they attend Mardi Gras festivals in New Orleans. The seven-year-old annual tradition was behind the decision to give the birthday gathering a Mardi Gras theme, explained another granddaughter, Adell Clouse, who along with her husband, Roger, has lived with Smith since 2001.

“I moved here for him to take care of me,” Adell Clouse joked.

While at Mardi Gras festivities, Smith collects colorful beads that he brings home with him, Clouse said. During his time in Florida, she continued, Smith also has taken to mailing boxes of the items home for family and friends.

Smith, a 1927 Jackson High School graduate, has lived on the farm since 1932, a year after marrying his late wife, Sadie Adell, who died in 1998. His family has grown to include six grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, 28 great-great-grandchildren and hundreds of nieces, nephews and other relatives; his only child, Elmer Smith, is deceased.

As a Jackson High sophomore, he drove a horse-drawn school bus. Later, he worked 22 years at RMI Titanium in Niles before retiring in 1973.

After coming home last month from Florida, Smith wasted no time resuming a high activity level. He got his driver’s license renewed and won’t have to worry about another trip to the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles until 2012, when he will be 104.

He and a grandson, Elmer W. Smith Jr., tend the day-to-day needs of the farm, part of which the elder Smith allows various area 4-H clubs to use for training animals and other similar purposes.

The younger Smith, who works in maintenance at Tecnocap LLC in Warren, got married in 1982 on the farm. It was a no-brainer to select Earla Smith as his best man, Elmer Smith recalled.

Several family members praised Smith for what they say is the positive example he has always set, as well as for maintaining a caring attitude and treating everyone with respect.

The Ramseys cited as an example the blatant racism Smith sometimes dealt with at work in the 1950s and ’60s between some of his white and black co-workers. Despite the pressure, Smith refused to succumb to such attitudes, and he befriended and ate with many black co-workers, they noted.

Age has done little to take the edge off Smith’s sharp mind, several family members said. He can still recite word for word the Gettysburg Address as well as poems he learned in third grade, they pointed out.

Part of his longevity can probably be attributed to Smith’s willingness to adapt to change as well as his love for young people and ability to get beyond negative experiences, Jean Ramsey added.