43
Centenarian sisters keep their wit about them
Photo
Mary Johnson, 103, right, is seated with her younger sister, Jessie Washington, 101, at Johnson’s Youngstown home. The two centenarian sisters, who recently celebrated their birthdays together, are the sole survivors of 12 siblings. WILLIAM D. LEWIS | THE VINDICATOR
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
It doesn’t take long for those who meet Jessie H. Washington and Mary H. Johnson to notice that the two sisters have a sharp sense of humor and accompanying wry smiles.
Another thing that’s difficult to miss is what isn’t there: wheelchairs, walkers, canes or other adaptive devices.
It’s easy to be absorbed in those facts before realizing that last month, Washington and Johnson celebrated their 101st and 103rd birthdays, respectively.
“Whenever we go by a cemetery, she’s fond of saying, ‘People are dying that have never died before,’” Marthella Allen, Johnson’s niece, said, referring to an example of her aunt’s sense of humor. “That’s one of her favorite sayings.”
Allen, Johnson, Washington and Mattie P. Bell reminisced and shared many laughs during a recent gathering at the sisters’ Nelson Avenue residence on the East Side. Bell is Washington’s niece and the two women’s caregiver.
Also assisting in that effort is Mercedes King of Youngstown, a cousin of Washington’s.
Sharing her sister’s love of a good laugh – and a propensity for not mincing words – is Washington, who enjoys occasional card games with her older sister.
“I play to win; that’s what I play for,” she said with a chuckle.
Johnson and Washington, whose mother, Catherine Holman, lived to be 103, are the sole survivors of 12 siblings. They came to Campbell in 1927 from their native Kosciusko, Miss., after the arrival of their six brothers, many of whom got jobs in the steel mills. During that time, many blacks left the Jim Crow South and migrated north for greater opportunities and a better life.
During World War II, the sisters were welders. One worked at General Motors Corp. and the other at the Ravenna Arsenal. Each served as a Rosie the Riveter, a cultural icon representing women who worked in factories and shipyards during the war and often is symbolic of feminism and women’s economic power.
In 1946, they settled in Youngstown, and after the war, Mary worked for the Youngstown Sheet & Tube and Truscon Steel companies. On April 20, 1951, Mary married James Johnson. The couple had no children.
The sisters have a box filled with weekly passes for the Youngstown Municipal Railway Co. from the late 1930s and early ’40s. They often got around by taking a trolley car that traveled along nearby Jacobs Road.
Over the years, the family grew, and when Johnson and Washington turned 100, more than 200 relatives and friends attended their birthday galas at the McGuffey Centre on Jacobs Road. For their most recent birthday, the sisters enjoyed meals at Charlie Staples Bar-B-Que restaurant.
The two might be centenarians, but don’t assume that they spend an inordinate amount of time sitting around the house and missing the past.
“Both have a great sense of humor, and healthwise, they’re doing great,” said Bell, who retired in 2010 after having taught 50 years in the Youngstown City School District. “I take them around to visit relatives.”
In addition, Washington and Johnson were top-notch caregivers who were there for many family members, recalled Allen, who spent 22 years as an educational-staff-support member for the city schools after having owned a restaurant.
Some of Allen’s fondest memories were from the nearly two years she lived with 13 people in her grandmother’s five-room house and Johnson often took her to downtown Youngstown and elsewhere, she said, adding that Sundays were special at the home.
“Those were the happiest years of my life. [Johnson] made me feel so special,” Allen said.
“On Sunday, that table would be loaded and anyone could come in for a good meal.”
Allen and Bell hope that many more good meals and times with Washington and Johnson are ahead.