House Resolution 13

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING MAGNOLIA J. MITCHELL ON THE OCCASION OF HER 101ST BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.

WHEREAS, Magnolia J. Mitchell, of Charleston, Mississippi, born to the late Scott and Ada Jackson, in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, on January 21, 1903, recently celebrated her 101st birthday; and

WHEREAS, the eldest of six children, Mrs. Mitchell attended school in the Springhill community east of Riverdale, and obtained an eighth-grade education; and

WHEREAS, having grown up in a time when children would go to school on average of approximately three months out of a year, Mrs. Mitchell is grateful that she learned to read and write, which affords her the ability to read her Bible and the newspaper on a daily basis; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Mitchell began cooking at the age of five and vividly recalls the wooden block her father cut for use as a step, enabling her to reach the stovetop; and

WHEREAS, when she was thirteen years old, Mrs. Mitchell's father passed, leaving her and her older brother to assist their mother in raising the younger children, and at fifteen years of age, she began performing domestic work in the Hardy community for a pay of one dollar per day to help provide for her family; and

WHEREAS, in 1925, Mrs. Mitchell married Vellie Mitchell and resided in Yalobusha County, where she continued her domestic work and sharecropping before she gained employment at Camp McCain in Grenada, Mississippi, where she worked in the laundry room during World War I; and

WHEREAS, at the age of twenty-eight, Mrs. Mitchell joined Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church in the Leverette community, where she was faithful in service until moving to Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, and uniting in membership with Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church at Paynes, where she remains an active member; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Mitchell contributes the blessing of her longevity to "prayer and faith" and the loving support of her family and friends; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend such outstanding Mississippians as Mrs. Mitchell, whose life is evidence of living history:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Mrs. Magnolia J. Mitchell on the occasion of her 101st celebration of life and extend our heartiest wishes for many more years of good health, love, peace, joy and happiness.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mrs. Magnolia J. Mitchell and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.