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At 102, Earla Smith never stops
By Elise Franco
North Jackson
Earla smith is proof that you don’t have to be young to have the time of your life.
The lifelong North Jackson resident celebrated his 102nd birthday May 19, but you wouldn’t know it unless you checked his birth certificate.
Smith said he has been to nine Mardi Gras celebrations, visits casinos often and most recently hopped on a Jet Ski for the first time.
“We couldn’t go very fast because it was pretty wavy,” he said. “But it was quite an experience.”
Smith spends half of each year in Pensacola, Fla., with his granddaughter Marie Ramsey and the other half on his North Jackson farm with granddaughter Adell Clouse.
Ramsey said she was nervous while Smith was on the Jet Ski but knows he can take care of himself, even at 102.
“You don’t ever tell Papa no,” she said. “He’ll do anything that you do, and he has a good time doing it.”
Smith said Mardi Gras is one of his favorite adventures.
“I have a lot of gals come up to me, and I have to give them a big hug to get their beads,” he said. “We went to a good spot to see everything and hear everything and collect beads. It was just a great time.”
Clouse said her grandfather knows no boundaries, and when he’s home, he’s active on the 100-acre farm.
“He’s sharp, and he’s quick,” she said. “Up until his 100th birthday, he mowed the lawn.”
Clouse said she was having a conversation with Smith as she weeded in the yard, and before she knew it, he was helping her with the task.
“He put his chair out there and was talking to me,” she said. “After about 10 minutes, he got down on his hands and knees and was weeding alongside me.”
Smith said he’s been active his entire life and intends to continue down that road as long as he can.
He said he thinks being so active has kept him in good health.
“I started working real young,” he said. “I drove the horse and wagon for Jackson High School when I was a sophomore.”
Smith also worked for RMI Titanium in Niles for 22 years, retiring in 1973.
Clouse said her grandfather is the only living member of the first first-grade class at Jackson School, later renamed Jackson Milton High School, in 1914.
In 2009, he spoke to the Jackson Milton senior class, which was the last group to graduate from that building before the new school opened.
Clouse said Smith is known for his sense of humor, and he showed it when asked what he still wants to accomplish.
“I’d go to the moon,” he joked. “They’re going to have flights to the moon in the year 2020, so I’m getting ready.”
Smith said, more seriously, that he would love to visit New York City.
“I’ve been to almost every place in the United States,” he said. “I’ve been all over New York, except New York City.”