Carlyle Union Banner
Carlyle, Illinois
Vol. 108, Number 5
Section Two
Wednesday, July 1, 1970

 103 Years Old:  Mrs. Hattie Melton who was 103 years old Saturday, June 13, had a quiet observance of the anniversary the following Sunday at Fireside Nursing Home with her children and a few friends present.

Mrs. Melton has been very fortunate to have spanned the days of the spinning wheel and the men walking on the moon. She understood perfectly when told about the Astronauts walking on the moon and said it was wonderful.

Mrs. Melton has had a full and pleasant life.  She had 10 children and raised her family in the days when women worked very hard. She can remember when she was a small child that her folks raised their own sheep, spun the yarn and wove their own material for clothing. She also remembers when Sandoval was a wilderness and when the Centralia street cars were pulled with horses. She can tell you the year she was born (1867) and she can recite from memory the old tongue twister poem (Pickled Peppers) which we all know is not easy.

Mother Melton spent her entire life in the Walnut Hill-Centralia area. She has made many wonderful friends through the years. Today she is blessed with many young friends who really are interested in her. They show their kindness in so many pleasant ways. She is a member of the Christian Church and two of her grandsons are ministers. One of the oddities of the family is the fact that Grandma Melton's last grandson is 12 years old. There is a variation of 91 years in their ages. He is the child of her youngest son, Charles.

Hattie Shaw was married to Joseph Melton in 1889 at Walnut Hill. If he were living today he would have reached his 119th birthday. To this union 10 children were born. Two of their sons served in the armed services. One served in the First World War and another served in World War II. There are seven children living, Mrs. Mae Sanders, Mrs. Grace McMenamy, Claud Melton and Mrs. Louis McKinney, all of Centralia, and Virgil Melton and Charles Melton of Walnut Hill, and Mrs. Elsie Jaske of Carlyle. Mrs. Melton has a younger sister, Mrs. Maude Stevens, who resides at the Bryan Manor Nursing Home in Salem.

 June 13, 1970, was a very important day in the life of Mrs. Hattie Melton and her family.