Birthday of Gilley, Mable - Grady County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Sandi Carter 20 Nov 2005 Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== The Chickasha Express-Star September 2005 GILLEY TO CELEBRATE 102ND ANNIVERSARY Ms. Mabel Gilley will be celebrating 102 years of life this Wednesday, Sept. 28. Mabel is the oldest member of the First Baptist Church and also has the longest membership at 61 years. Born on Sept. 28, 1903, Mabel moved to Chickasha in 1905, when she was two. She remembers when Chickasha Avenue was made of mud and the sidewalks were wooden. Her father, a bricklayer, helped build a good portion of Chickasha's historic downtown. When Mabel attended school in Chickasha, all the grades were housed in one school on Seventh Street. A horse trough with tin cups hanging from the side werved as the water fountain. "You didn't always get the same cup each time you went for a drink," she said. Often on her way to school, Mabel would take off her shoes at the creek bridge and continue on her way barefoot. After school, she would make her way back to the bridge and retrieve her shoes, hoping that her mother would never know. But, as she recollects, "Mama always knew." Being barefoot was one of her childhood pleasures. At age 16, Mabel took on the responsibility of rearing her 7 year old brother. A couple of years later, she married William (Carl) Gilley, and had two sons of her own, William and Eugene. After her children were grown, Ms. Gilley opened a day care in her home. She loved children and enjoyed 20 years of caring for hundreds of them. She believed in teaching them responsibility and was praised by parents for helping instill good habits in their children. Mabel also took care of and raised children from the Department of Human Services, and one of her girls even became a doctor. Since her eyesight has declined, Mabel has moved to an apartment at Glenhaven Assisted Living Center. Anyone who would like to wish her a happy birthday is welcome to stop by, and cards can be mailed to her new residence or to the Express-Star, P.O. Drawer E, Chickasha, Okla., 73023. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Grady County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/grady/grady.html