Randolph County AlArchives News.....Woodgett, George Celebates Birthday September 21, 1950 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Linda Ayres http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00031.html#0007674 March 22, 2023, 2:54 pm Roanoke Leader September 21, 1950 Friday, Sept. 15, was the 110th birthday anniversary of George Woodgett, Malone, Ala., Rt. 1. The event might have passed without attracting any outside attention except for a single postcard received the day before by Radio Station WELR, Roanoke. The postcard was a request to send birthday greetings to my grandfather, George Woodgett, on his 107th birthday. The request was addressed to the Birthday Club, a program sponsored every week-day morning by Kitchens Auto Supply Co. J. W. Buttram, station manager, sensed a good story in that card and assigned program director John Hodges to investigate. Accompanied by the Leader representatives. Hodges went out Thursday Morning and located "Uncle George" living in the home of Malachi Boyd in the Level Roads community. John Hodges was no stranger to these people being raised in the same community. When the little party of exploration first saw him, George Woodgett was asleep in his bed and had a straggly white beard. However, he arose himself when awaken before long, was trying to get out of bed unassisted. Malachi and Fannie Boyd (Woodgett's daughter) were quite. I pleased when told of plans to have a radio interview honoring "Uncle George" and to take pictures of the event. They had been wanting to do something like this for him but had not known how to go about it. A date was made for 2:30 the following afternoon. A technical difficulty had to be overcome before the tape-recorded broadcast could be made. Electric power had to be brought to the Boyd house from a power line nearby. The Alabama Power Co. responded generously and had temporary lines ready when the radio-newspaper team arrived at the appointed time. After talking to members of the family the day before, the investigators had concluded that "Uncle George's" correct age must be 106 instead of the 107 reported on the card. However, Friday afternoon an expanded group of relatives and friends was present, including some white neighbors who felt sure that "Uncle George" on that day was actually 110 years old! They had gone to the cemetery and found the date 1840 on the tombstone of a person known to be the same age as "Uncle George". This report tallied exactly with what he had always told his children that his birthday was Sept. 15th and that he was 21 years old when the Civil War broke out. Among the newcomers Friday afternoon for the ceremony was Andrew Woodgett, 70-year-old son of the guest of honor. Considerably more talkative than his venerable father, he proved to be the life of the party and the main-third stay of the broadcast, As the radio-newspaper team arrived, Andrew greeted young John Hodges:"Johnny, Johnny! When you went on the radio down at Roanoke, I sot the dial on Roanoke, pulled off the knob, and threw it away". After a little preliminary assembling of facts, it was time to begin with some picture-taking, first of Uncle George himself, and then of a family group. From his room "Uncle George" was now helped to the front porch and placed in his favorite chair. His beard has been shaved off and his mustache was trimmed. The photographer's flashbulb gave off a sudden white glare of light. I thought they had dropped the atomic. Andrew Woodgett exclaimed. "Uncle George" merely blinked. The broadcast got under way with John Hodges presiding. To questions about his health and the extent of his fishing lately, Uncle George had one simple answer, "Not much", "Very well", he said when asked about his enjoyment of his birthday. He had nothing to say to the radio audience when asked the secret of his long life. Hodges then turned his questions to Andrew Woodgett, who carried on in great fashion. His father had not actually fought in the Civil War, he explained. "He just fit to keep out". As to his father's personal life. Additional Comments: 1900 Randolph County Alabama Census: Name George W. Woodgett Sex Male Age 48 Event Date 1900 Event Place Election Precinct 9 Louina, Randolph, Alabama, United States Event Place (Original) ED 59 Precinct 9 Louina, Randolph, Alabama, United States Event Type Census Birth Date Sep 1852 Birthplace Alabama Marital Status Married Race Black Years Married 19 Relationship to Head of Household Head Relationship Code Head Father's Birthplace Georgia Mother's Birthplace Georgia Household Identifier 126 Line Number 69 Sheet Letter B Sheet Number 7 Sheet Number and Letter 7B Affiliate Publication Number T623 Affiliate Name The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) 1910 Randolph County Alabama Census: Name George Wingette Sex Male Age 65 Event Date 1910 Event Place Louina, Randolph, Alabama, United States Event Place (Original) Louina, , Alabama Event Type Census Birth Year (Estimated) 1845 Birthplace Alabama Marital Status Married Race Black Relationship to Head of Household Head Relationship Code Head Father's Birthplace Alabama Mother's Birthplace Alabama Sheet Letter A Sheet Number 17 1920 Randolph County Alabama Census: Name George W Woodgett Sex Male Age 67 Event Date 1920 Event Place Randolph, Alabama, United States Event Place (Original) Beat G, ED 151, Randolph, Alabama, United States Event Type Census Birth Year (Estimated) 1853 Birthplace Alabama Marital Status Married Race Mulatto Relationship to Head of Household Head Relationship Code Head Father's Birthplace Alabama Mother's Birthplace Alabama Household Identifier 195 Line Number 25 Sheet Letter A Sheet Number 12 Sheet Number and Letter 12A Affiliate Film Number 39 Affiliate Publication Number T625 Affiliate Name The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/randolph/newspapers/woodgett2219gnw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 6.3 Kb