Local woman welcomes 103rd year as 2015 arrives
Annie Marbutt sits in her bed at Terrace Manor with her stuffed animals and birthday gifts. Marbutt celebrated her 103rd birthday.
Years go by and things change from one to the next for most people in Franklin County. Birthdays are good reminders of that and so is the ringing in of the New Year. But for one local lady, her birthday and the coming of 2015 marked 103 years on Earth.
So many things can happen in 103 years, but we’ll come back to that.
Annie Marbutt, originally from Hodges, has been a resident of Terrace Manor for the past two years. Before that she lived on her own and took care of herself, according to her son, Hudon Marbutt.
“She was living at her home and taking care of herself and doing just fine until she fell and broke her hip,” he said. “She was 100 at that time.”
Marbutt was a school cafeteria cook for many years, first at Wigginton and then later at Hackleburg. She also taught Sunday school for many years and recalled with a grin that “she enjoyed that time very much” though she didn’t make much money.
Marbutt recalled making only $11 per week during her time at Wigginton and then somewhere around $36 per month when she came to Hackleburg.
Marbutt’s husband died years ago, but she said he “was one of the best.”
“My husband was one of the best there was,” she said. “Everybody loved him and he loved everyone. He was good to me. He was so good to me.”
The couple was married for 67 years before his death.
Marbutt referred to one of her new stuffed animals that she held close to her as a “humdinger,” a term that Hudon Marbutt said was one of her regular sayings. The sharpness of her memory and the energy she still had after a day of celebrating her birthday showed that perhaps she was a humdinger, too.
Marbutt said that her fondest memories were from her childhood.
“My childhood and growing up with my family are my favorite memories,” she said. “I especially liked the seesaw.”
Marbutt had five brothers and two sisters that she grew up with.
Hudon Marbutt said his mother’s longevity can probably be attributed to old time remedies.
“She hasn’t spent much time in any hospitals before coming here after she broke her hip,” he said. “She never really got sick and when she did she used some of the old time remedies and never let any doctors around.”
Mrs. Marbutt said there were a lot of changes during her lifetime.
“There have been so many changes in my lifetime, but I couldn’t name them all,” she said. “I guess the cost of living is the biggest change.”
Indeed there have been many changes over the past 103 years. Milk cost 36 cents in 1915 and a gallon of gas cost 25 cents. A person could purchase a house for $3,200 on average and a first-class stamp cost 2 cents. Mrs. Marbutt has seen the first black President of the United States be elected and she has also seen the First World War. She has seen silent movies run their course and the rise of color television.
Mrs. Marbutt has seen many things in her time and on Jan. 2 she also saw another birthday.
