Randolph County, West Virginia          Biography of Aldmishia Long Wilfong

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"Any time I got in trouble at home, I'd run to Grandma's, no one got spanked
at Grandma's," remembers Mrs. Jeri Pennington, as she tells stories of her
beloved grandmother, Mrs. Aldmishia Wilfong. Now living at Nella's Rest Home
in Elkins, Mrs. Wilfong celebrated her 100th birthday February 2.
The log house in which the late Samuel and Margaret Pennington Long were
living one hundred years ago is still standing. It is located between Harman
and Dry Fork and althought unoccupied, is still reasonably sound.
"Grandma was never happier than when there were lots of people around," Jeri
said. "In fact, she practically raised me and two of her other grandchildre."
Only one of her six children is now living, but most lived within three miles
of her home and Jeri and her cousins, Ed Johnson and James Wilfong, Jr., were
with their grandmother as much as possible--often serval weeks at a time.
Modern luxuries were unappealing to Mrs. Wilfong and she flatly refused to
allow her children to install indoor plumbing or wire here home for
electricity.
She resided in the log home until she became the bride of Joseph A. Wilfong
who, along with farming, was a track-walker for a railroad company. Jeri
Pennington was a small child at the time of her grandfather's death, November
27, 1947. She vaguely remembers sitting on his lap while he ate Ritz
crackers. "He loved those thinkgs," she chuckled. He had undergone surgery
and was not well.
During their married lives they lived in Jennington and Lead Mine and, during
the years Jeri remembers, were living at Dry Fork.
Lack of modern conveniences never daunted Mrs. Wilfong's spirit. A jovial
woman, she worked in the woods like a man and loved it.
If she needed a new chair she cut down a tree, sawed the wood and built it
herself. The seat was caned from green hickory she had cut and soaked.
"She uses a piece of glass, like a broken windowpane, to dress the wood. She
could make wood as smooth whit a  peice of glass as most people can with
sandpaper," Jeri said.
Mrs. Wilfong made here own wooden spoons, new handles for her axes and
hammers, and even her own rug hooks.
Longevity is not unusual to Mrs. Wilfong's family. Her sister, Mrs. Mary
Catherine (Cass) White lived to be nearly 101 years old. Their homes were
just a half mile apart and they worked together each spring shearing their
sheep. they used hand clippers, then washed the wool, carded it and spun it.
They also made their own soap and candles.
Mrs. Wilfong has had more than 125 direct descendants. Mrs. Russel (Cena)
Johnson of Harman is the only one of her six children surviving. One son,
alan, died in infancy; another, George, died of rheumatic fever at  17 years
of age.
Her other children who are deceased include Mrs. Liza Wilfong Cross and James
and Garnett Wilfong.
James Wilfong's children were: Buck, father of three; Nancy, mother of four,
grandmother of three; Toots, mother of three; Lena, mother of three; Henry;
Carl, father of two; Clarence, father of three; Doris, mother of four; and
Margaret.
Garnett's children include: Bus, father of four, now residing in California;
Pat, mother is six, of Delaware; Walt, father of four, Uniontown,
Pennsylvania; Jeri, mother of two, Lansville; Dick, Falls Church, Virginia;
Shirley, Ohio; Art, deceased; Violet Smith of Ellamore, mother of one; Elaine
Wilfong of Harman.
Liza Wilfong Cross was the mother of nine children, two of whom are deceased.
The others are Ronald, father of fice; James, father of three; Delmar, father
of one; Eve, mother of three; Twila, mother of two; Ken, father of two; and
Bernard.
Mrs. Cena Wilfong Johnson who nowlives in Harman is the mother of: Ed, father
on one, Vail, mother of four;Lil, mother of one and grandmother of eight;
Martha, mother of eight, grandmother of four; William, father of three;
David, father of eight; two of Cena's children are deceased.
Although Mrs. Wilfong has difficulty recognizing people now, and her memory
is not so clear, it has not been many years since she told her granddaughter
about her schooling. During the six months when school was in session the
teacher lived with the families of their pupils. She often spoke of one,
David Ball.
Mrs. Wilfong was past 90 when it was necessay for her to move into the home
of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. James (Rosa) Wilfong. At 92 she was still
boiling her own maple sugar. At 97 she was still insisting she would like to
go to here own home and p lant a garden have her own cow.
She lived with her daughter-in-law about three years before it was necessary
to place here in the rest home. Until about a year ago she could walk and is
till out of bed in a wheelchair every day.
The nurses say she is in very good health and describe her as a pleasant
woman.
Having lived 100 years probably does not impress Aldmishia Long Wilfong. Time
has never been of much importance to her. Never in her life has she owned a
clock.---March 21, 1973, by Mariwyn McClain Smith

From the book: ...and live forever A Compilation of Senior Citizens Articles
from the Parsons Advocate
pages 420-422